Freedom Culture-

How A Business Was Born From A Dream

We’ve all heard the saying that if you aim at nothing that’s exactly what you’ll get.  I like to have goals, dreams and a clear picture of where I am headed.  I make so many lists and think about it so much that it’s been great to sit down and force myself to concisely put together what all the lists and the dreaming looks like.  Sometimes I’m afraid to definitively put it down in case I’m thinking to small and not outside the box enough, but here is what I see.

Within the next 7 years I see Freedom Culture becoming a household brand name. I see it becoming a brand that not only makes people happy to wear and use our products, but also makes them feel a part of a movement for change. Our goal is to lead a movement that inspires hope in our culture, that brings and promotes freedom and has a large influence in shaping not only western culture but inspires those who join us to move out of their comfort zones and inspire other cultures globally.

I see a large flagship store that is more like a cultural center where new products and ideas are created, tested and discussed.  This center will be a place, where imagination and creativity is fostered and a brighter vision of the future is cultured and released.  I see a home base start up fashion line that became a part of the global movement that abolishes slavery and establishes FREEDOM. 

Tangibly, that looks like prosperity for my family but also prosperity for all those that we influence, inspire and assist in finding freedom.  It looks like me, at the end of my days, being surrounded by the beautiful things Freedom Culture created but more importantly a legacy of being a part of building a better, freer, more perfect society that reaches to the generations of my children’s, children’s children.  In order that they don’t have to consider the horrible realities our generation faces but reap the benefits of all that we worked for and so that they can build upon all that we’ve accomplished. 

That’s worth getting up for every Monday morning, don’t you think?!?! 

How Freedom Culture Was Born

I do my best thinking while blow drying my hair.  Perhaps, it’s the white noise. The fact that it tunes everyone, and everything out or simply that it forces me to stop for a bit.  One morning as I did my hair, I couldn’t stop thinking about all the horrific statistics I’d learned about sex trafficking.  I started thinking about it in terms of an industry and how if the numbers of the “supply” side are so overwhelming, what must the numbers on the “demand” side be like?  I’ve heard reports that on average women and children are reporting being abused 40 times a day and I have heard reports of abuse up to 300 times a day.  I can’t even let my mind go there.  I get angry when I see how much of this industry is supported by our Western Culture.  I began to consider culture and how it evolves and is established. 

The Oxford Dictionary defines culture as “the ideas, customs, and social behaviors of a society. “ I myself am guilty of “living room activism”, which means sitting around in the comfort of my home with opinions and complaints with how bad the world is, but NEVER doing anything to participate in changing it.  We are all, each and every one of us responsible for the society and culture we live in.  If the definition is correct then culture is created by the people who live in its society.  My silence is just as loud as those whose behaviors support the trafficking industry.

If it makes me angry or feel devastation, then I need to stand up and introduce new ideas.  I need to practice the customs that stand in opposition out in the open so that it influences the society of which I am apart.  I felt if there was a time to be a person of influence, there was no better time than now.

I am drawn to fashion because it is such a major influence in culture.  Through our fashion line, not only can we create quality products, but the brand itself can create an open door for those wearing it to discuss the issue of sex trafficking.   At the same time we are also raising funds to send to those working to rescue and restore women and children who are in captivity.

I’m a dreamer and a humanitarian by nature, but I also LOVE entrepreneurship.  Freedom Culture felt like the perfect blend of all my talents and passions.  I presented the concept to my amazing business partner and husband.  After seeing his enthusiasm it was “game on”.  We were formed 11.11.11 which to me was stunning because here in Canada we call it Remembrance Day and I know that in the States it is your Veterans Day.  It’s a day that we all stop and reflect on Freedom and the sacrifices that won it.  That is the whole foundation behind our movement……Freedom and whatever sacrifices it takes to shift culture to gain freedom for those who do not have it.

We love running our other companies but Freedom Culture has brought a whole new level of passion and purpose to our lives that fuels us in a whole new way.

Who Is The Chief Freedomizer at Freedom Culture?

My name is Cheryl Boyce.  I am 33 years young.  My story is typical and complicated all at the same time.  I was born to young parents who passionately loved their savior and have made a life of sacrificing to share Jesus’ love with whoever they crossed paths with.  By 27 my father became a Pastor.  I am the oldest of 5 girls and have proved to be their biggest handful.

We moved midway through my Grade 11 year from the small town where my father had been ministering, to a city suburb of Toronto, Canada.  This presented a lot of challenges for me.  My new high school was very divided and cliques ran rampant.  I struggled to find friends and figure out where I fit in.  Before long I compromised my values and became a part of a group that was going down a path that I had never imagined myself going. 

At 18 I found myself pregnant without the support of my boyfriend.  My pregnancy was difficult and the shame I felt was immense.  I struggled to see how all the promise I’d had growing up and all the dreams I’d carried could ever be possible.  Beyond all those feelings however was the overwhelming love I felt for my unborn son and a renewed passion to be the best I could for him and his future. 

January 4, 1999 at the age of 19 I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy who I named Quinn Valen.  Shortly after his birth it was discovered that he was born with severe heart defects.  The next five months of my life was spent in Toronto’s Sick Children’s Hospital.  After multiple open heart surgeries and countless procedures Quinn passed away in my arms and my world was shattered.  Not only was I the pastor’s daughter who had become pregnant before marriage but now I was the girls who’s baby died.  The dreams I’d had before I became pregnant seemed impossible to recover and the new ones I’d fostered in light of my sons life were over. 

The next year was incredibly “messy” to put it mildly.  Then came a turning point.  As I sat in our family van one evening, my mother said to me “Cheryl, you can’t punish God.  Your running is punishing you. “I looked at the shambles my life was in and had to agree that I had taken a horrible situation and was making it so much more difficult with the life I was living.  It has been a long journey, but that day I accepted that I needed to let go of my anger and start my pursuit of who God the Father was.  I needed to discover the dreams that he carried in his heart for me.  I chose Jesus, not because of who my parents were or how I’d been raised but because HE walked with me through all the pain and the more I surrendered the more he restored.

I am now the mother of four incredible kids.  I am married to the love of my life, who has been my best friend since Grade 6 and has always believed in me.  Together we own multiple businesses.  Our latest venture is Freedom Culture, a fashion and lifestyle line that is, Inspired by HOPE, Dedicated to FREEDOM, Passionate about CULTURE.  We donate 10% of all our sales to organizations working to end sex trafficking, because no one should be bought and sold.  Each one is precious.  Each one has a purpose and a destiny.  We’re crazy enough to believe that no matter what has happened in life it can always be restored. Slavery CAN be ended.  Join Us.  LOVE WINS!  

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