Jessica Baretty
Case Western Reserve University - Weatherhead School of Management
David Cooperrider
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Puerto Rico’s poverty index was 44.9 percent before Hurricane Maria hit the island. While there are some areas that receive economic support by government, the reality is that many families live in desperate need of hope and sources of income. Olita’s (small wave) mission is to deviate families from the circle of poverty and provide economic growth and sustainability.
Olita's innovation is to design and sell competitive sport clothing with a social message and donate 10% of their profit to different projects that allow for members of disadvantaged areas to rebuild unused structures and make sustainable businesses. Olita’s latest project is El Hotelito (The Little Hotel). The goal is to restore an abandoned building and develop it into an art gallery and Bread and Breakfast that can be administered by the community through an online platform.
Olita’s founder, Gerardo Lebrón, learned since his adolescence, the value and rewards of serving others. Together with his five brothers, Gerardo participated in Jesuit missions in Costa Rica and Argentina building houses for poverty-stricken communities. His experiences marked him emotionally and as he grew, he felt a need to continue creating opportunities for supporting others. “When I dreamt up Olita, I was in 8th grade. The ocean has always been a vital part my life so I chose to use it as name and inspiration”. We have always been looking for projects. I wanted to find opportunities where we could find areas that really needed the support.“ With the help of friends, artists, and professors, Olita's team kept asking and looking until this time, they found Barrio Cerro Calero. “I visited every 2 weeks to get to know the community and found this artist who showed me all his work displayed in an abandoned house. I was perplexed at his talent and together with the community came up with the idea for El Hotelito.: “ The reason I am persistent and continue to do this is that there is no better feeling than humbly knowing that you can help others”.
It is a social enterprise, so it is the reason the Business exists.
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Gerardo Lebrón, Founder
Olitas is a social enterprise that designs and sells sportswear to support social projects.