Reflecting on 2020 & Finding Hope in Community

2020: What can I say that hasn’t already been said about this crazy year?

The challenges we’ve faced as individuals, families, businesses, and as a world have been unprecedented. Our hearts go out to anyone who has lost loved ones or suffered themselves from the COVID-19 virus.

As a small business, we also understand the steep hill businesses across the country, who have survived up until this point, are climbing in order to recover from this pandemic. 

Over the past several months, we at Jill and Joey have faced manufacturing stoppages and shipping delays. We also faced a major trend, especially in the first months of the pandemic, back towards the use of disposable products as a way to maintain cleanliness and reduce infection. Thankfully, we know much more about this virus than we did back then.

So, it’s been a “roller coaster” year for Jill and Joey as it has for virtually everyone.

But one thing that has given me hope for the future has been the great sense of community I’ve seen. In my personal life, the support of my family and “pod” of friends has kept me sane and optimistic in a time when neither is certain. 

For Jill and Joey, the community of followers and customers and eco advocates that we have grown to love and serve has helped us stay focused on our mission to make the world more reusable and sustainable. 

As we enter 2021, we’ve recommitted to this mission by introducing a whole set of new reusable products from our trusted “Sustainable Ecosystem” of vendors. 

Thankfully, with the arrival of the first vaccines, we seem to be entering the beginning of the end of this pandemic. Yes, challenges lie ahead. But I am more optimistic than ever about the future.

As we celebrate the holidays, I hope you and your loved ones are able to feel the same sense of hope and community support as we have experienced over the last several months. And, I hope that our local and global communities will come out of this period with a stronger sense of purpose and connection.

From all of us at Jill and Joey, we hope you have a joyful holiday season and a happy new year.