As a sophomore at NC State, Owen Jordan first developed the idea for his nonprofit, RESQD, while sitting in his dorm room. Now a NC State alumnus, Jordan is founder and CEO of RESQD, an organization that works to financially support orphans and impoverished children internationally.
By putting the artwork of orphaned children on lifestyle items such as totes and T-shirts, RESQD is able to use a portion of its sales to fund projects that create educational opportunities for vulnerable children.
Jordan, who studied environmental science and sustainable business, said his career began with a couple false starts. He started as a civil engineering major at North Carolina A&T University before transferring to NC State to pursue environmental science. Both jobs were too political for him and he even spent a portion of his sophomore year thinking he would become a professional rugby player.
“I was going through that career life crisis that every college student goes through. ‘What is my life? What am I doing? Am I in the right major?’” Jordan said.
Jordan insisted that he always knew he wanted to do something that helped people, he just never knew what. This all changed one day when a friend convinced him to go to a session with an organization called Loving Orphans Global.
The speakers for the organization told Jordan about how they felt called to their job, how they left everything behind to pursue their passion and what a change they felt in their lives because of it.
After spending a weekend learning from the people at Loving Orphans Global, Jordan remembered telling them, “I have this great desire to give you thousands of dollars that I don’t have yet. I feel like one day I will.”
Sitting at Bojangles’, a friend told Jordan, “If you don’t do it right now, when are you ever going to do it?”
Jordan said he stopped waiting until the money came in and just took a leap. He then began his RESQD journey by spending his last $30 in his bank account to buy Paracord to make and bracelets. That summer, he worked at a camp to gain experience with kids and find direction for his cause.
The first RESQD project took place in Bali, Indonesia. RESQD raised money to buy a school bus for the orphans by selling T-shirts with featuring the orphans’ artwork. Jordan explained how tragic the life of an orphan can be in some countries.
“They age out of orphanages at around 15 and they either go to prostitution, gangs, or choose suicide,” Jordan said. “It is my goal to show them that they have great capabilities.”
In Bungoma, Kenya, RESQD helped fund a second project to buy a textile store where the students and orphans learned to sew and knit.
“The revenue of the store goes back to the orphanage so they don’t have to rely on outside donors,” Jordan said.
This week, Jordan is traveling to Guatemala with Lemonade International for the third RESQD trip.
Jessica Firestone, the Public Relations Coordinator for RESQD and a 2014 graduate from NC State admitted that Jordan’s drive is “pretty impressive.”
“He found an itch and found a way to scratch it,” Firestone said.
While Jordan is the only employee on staff, it is definitely not a “one-man show.” People like Firestone who are either friends of his or just interested in the RESQD cause are excited to help out.
Jordan said he has big plans for RESQD.
“It’s hard to turn T-shirts and totes into a profit,” Jordan said. “Everyone in Raleigh is big on coffee, beer and art.”
With this in mind, Jordan has plans to start a RESQD coffee club and print the orphans’ artwork on coffee mugs available for purchase, and possibly partner with Triangle-based coffee vendors to offer some sort of award or discount incentive. Jordan envisions a system in which customers build up points to use toward prizes, with the grand prize being to accompany him on the next RESQD trip.
“That’s just an idea that is in the works,” Jordan said.
Jordan is a part of the ThinkHouse Accelerator for young entrepreneurs in Raleigh. He attributes being involved in the “entrepreneurial ecosystem of Raleigh” as well as the student entrepreneurial community as huge factors in his success.
He encourages students to “just branch out of the college sphere.”
“Anyone who has an idea, just get out and tell someone about it,” Jordan said.
Jordan’s ultimate goal is to be able to make RESQD a full-time job. He wants to travel around the world starting new projects while impacting communities through developmental giving. Jordam hopes to get the RESQD products stocked in stores such as Whole Foods. He also said there is potential to partner with companies such as Toms and Cotopaxi, a new backpack company with similar goals as RESQD.
“I always ask people, ‘If you could have your life exactly the way you want it, doing exactly what you want, what would it be?’” Jordan said. “It all started in a dorm room at NC State, so don’t ever think that your idea is too dumb.”
