Our Story
Back in the olden days, when life threw us a curveball
Our Village knew how to support us in exactly the right way.
Today it’s very different.
Our support network is spread far and wide. So when life stuff happens to someone we love, we can be left wondering,
‘How can I help?’
Current options include: head scratching over a well-intentioned but not always perfect present (we see you and we feel you, fellow procrastinators); whip arounds for a group gift then chasing up contributions (would rather not thanks); asking our loved one what they’d like (you might think this is helpful. Spoiler alert: it’s not.) We knew there had to be a better way.
So we pondered what a 21st century Village would look like. How we could make it easy to coordinate group support and help in a meaningful way.
And just like that, It Takes a Village was born.
Our Founder
Fran Portet, mother of four boys (aged eight, five, one and… 41)
Watching family and friends go through tough times and noting just how much Bolognese can be eaten in a week (or a year if you have a deep freeze). Fran became convinced that a freshly mown lawn, a good dinner and an empty laundry basket could change lives….. Or at the very least, take a weight off your shoulders and give you one less thing to worry about.
After three babies and the ensuing (beautifully intended) celebratory gifts, she could also see an unintended environmental consequence that for some people, becomes a weight on your shoulders.
With over 15 years in marketing and media, a growing understanding of what constitutes ‘valuable support’ (it’s different for everyone) and a penchant for organising group gifts, Fran decided she could simplify the process of collective support-giving and sustainable-gifting in one destination – Your Village.
Fran, with her boys, in her natural habitat
Our Why
We’re helping people take care of each other and the environment
We’re helping to build the village that would, in past times, be rolling up your sleeves and getting dirty.
We’re helping those asking themselves, ‘How do I make someone feel better when I don’t know what to say or do?’
And those thinking, ‘A silk eye mask is lovely but I’d really like someone to vacuum the stairs.’
And because we’re big fans of the planet, we’re eliminating a superficial layer of gifting from the environment along the way.