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The Toledo Lucas County
Public Library is excited to welcome Yelitsa Jean-Charles on
Feb. 26 for “Hustle & Glow: Resourceful Entrepreneurship.”
During this free event, Jean-Charles will present about how
she recognized the lack of diversity represented in the toy
industry and pursued a business opportunity.
She will appear as part of
Hustle and Glow: Resourceful Entrepreneurship on Wednesday
Feb. 26 from 6 - 8 p.m. at the
Main Library, McMaster
Center
Yelitsa Jean-Charles grew up
without a doll that resembled her. She recalled crying at
the sight of a black doll from her parents, believing it was
not the “pretty one.” Her company, Healthy Roots Dolls, is
now creating a fairer toy industry.
During her junior year at
Rhode Island School of Design, Jean-Charles recreated the
character Rapunzel “as a brown girl with beautiful kinky
hair,” according to Healthy Roots Dolls. She saw the need
for greater equity in toys and children’s publishing.
Jean-Charles ultimately created several more characters.
“Because while there are
black dolls, we go beyond just painting a doll brown. We
create an educational play experience with curl care,”
through Healthy Roots Dolls, she states. “Our mission is to
bring curl power to the toy aisle with products that reflect
the diversity of our reality.”
Doll purchases come with a
curl care starter kit. Jean-Charles said wanted to help
educate on styling techniques and feeling confident.
“It’s basically just a lack
of knowledge of how [to do your hair] and that’s something
we have to bring back,” she said. “We want to put the
knowledge back into our children’s hands without putting the
burden on the parents.”
Jean-Charles created Healthy
Roots in 2015 with backing from a Brown University Social
Innovation Fellowship grant and support from the RISD E’Ship
Program, Masschallenge Accelerator program and 674
Kickstarter users. Essence selected her in 2017 for its “50
Founders to Watch” list.
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