Spotlight: Wayne Grover – Founder, You Are Not Alone Gifts

What is YANA Gifts’ and the YANA Foundation’s mission, and how does YANA work to achieve that mission? 

Loneliness is an epidemic that is affecting the entire globe. Prior to the current crisis we all are experiencing, in the U.S. alone nearly half of all Americans say they are lonely.   There is no doubt loneliness is on the rise and it affects people of all ages. Well, we have decided to do something about it.

You Are Not Alone Gifts mission is to eliminate loneliness.  The company was created around the premise that four words, “You Are Not Alone”, have the power to change someone’s life…and yours.

Whether a celebration or one of life’s more difficult moments, YANA Gifts help deliver the warm message that you care about someone and you are there for him or her. All of our meaningful gifts are specifically designed to be repetitive use items, meaning with each use one is lovingly reminded that you are there for him or her while receiving these four words, You Are Not Alone.

Along with our YANA Gifts company, we have also created the YANA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. You Are Not Alone Gifts donates 2% of sales to the YANA Foundation.  We appreciate other companies that give back, however we thought there was a better way of deciding where the funds should be put to use.  Instead of the company choosing where the funds are directed and receiving all the goodwill, we want to give our customers the opportunity to make these choices.  At YANA Gifts, we want our customers, our community, to receive the goodwill by deciding where charitable funds should be directed.

So how does that work? Every quarter we will randomly select a YANA customer and that individual will give away the foundation’s allotted funds for that quarter. The only guideline one must adhere to is that he or she must help people in need. It’s that simple.  So you could give the funds to a neighbor who has been out of work and needs help paying some bills, a homeless person in your area, a struggling college student, a cancer patient, etc., you get the point. By helping people in need you are letting them know they are not alone.

Lastly as YANA Gifts grows we want to hire difficult to employ individuals or people who simply need a first or second chance in life.  We must practice our mission internally and what better way to let someone know he or she is not alone than by giving them a much needed employment opportunity.

In this moment of global crisis and isolation, combating loneliness has taken on a new sense of urgency. And yet, even before social distancing, loneliness was and continues to be a pervasive challenge for people of all ages, and from all walks of life. What inspired you to start a movement to let people know that they are not alone? 

Like many people, I have had many highs and lows in my life, which includes being a father to two beautiful young daughters, a successful career in finance, attending college on scholarship, succeeding in collegiate athletics, surviving cancer, going through a divorce, dealing with depression and coping with the deaths of others. Through the good times and bad, I felt very alone, even when surrounded by friends and family. Although at the time I really didn’t understand this or what was bothering me.

At the onset of my divorce, I asked myself, ‘what is wrong with me and what is going on in my life?” Through the compassion of close friends being there for me and working with a gifted therapist, I discovered (I acknowledged) for the first time that I did feel alone for most of my life and what the root causes were. Through difficult work and with the help of friends, I was able to diminish (greatly) what was causing my feelings of being alone.

The more I spoke (and listened) to others about what was going on in my life (and theirs); I discovered I wasn’t so unique. From these conversations I began to hear a familiar theme over and over again—others felt they were alone too! Teenager’s dealing with the pressures of high school, bullying, trying to get into college, deployment of military and their families, single parent families, finding your first job or dealing with unemployment, sitting at the pinnacle of success, road warriors on business travel, birthdays, holidays, having a baby, empty nester’s, retiree’s, loss of relationship, dealing with illness, death…every life experience can bring on feelings of loneliness and I believe there is a solution! It takes one person to make a difference in another’s life. One person to tell another, “You Are Not Alone”, I am here for you. It made a difference in my life and I believe it will work for others. You may even say it has become my life’s calling.

So, I resigned from my firm and set out to create You Are Not Alone Gifts; a movement of caring people letting others know that they are not alone no matter what they are experiencing. From celebrating and sharing good times with friends to dealing with life’s more difficult moments, everything is always better when you know You Are Not Alone. Always remember to share these four words, “You Are Not Alone” with someone in your life today!

Tell us the meaning behind YANA’s logo. 

The YANA Symbol represents a group of friends coming together with open arms letting all know, You Are Not Alone.  We have a brief video on our website, https://yanacares.com/p/meaning-of-yana-symbol, that illustrates the YANA Symbol and reveals how to see the true meaning behind it.

How can our community purchase a YANA gift? Where are YANA gifts made? Who creates the designs? 

The easiest way to purchase a YANA Gift is to visit our website, www.YANAcares.com.  We create our designs through a few channels: we have crowd sourced many designs (with set guidance) so we get an international perspective and we have utilized RISD interns to assist in our jewelry design.  Both have been amazing!

Our goal has always been to create and manufacture as many of our gifts as possible here in Rhode Island, and if not Rhode Island then in the U.S.  Unfortunately some items cannot be manufactured here so we import a few.

How can our community support the YANA Foundation? Are there ways that YANA might be able to support other local nonprofits (in Rhode Island and across the country)? 

I established YANA Foundation and structured it to be fully-funded by the sales from You Are Not Alone Gifts.  I didn’t want to have to write grants or ask for funds to get the YANA Foundation going.  Instead I wanted to create a self-funding model and then let our customers decide where the funds are needed.  Who better to know where the greatest impact can be made with YANA Foundation funds than YANA Gifts customers.

What does a typical workday look like (not that there are any “typical” work days at the moment!)? Do you have a daily routine or ritual that you swear by / that helps you to stay focused as you lead YANA Gifts? 

No day is typical and I admit starting a new and caring brand has been and continues to be a challenge.  Most of my time is focused on sales and creating brand awareness.  We greatly appreciate being featured in your spotlight and would welcome any and all opportunities to get our message out and let consumers know who we are and what we are trying to accomplish.

Do you have a favorite quote or mantra that inspires you?

My favorite quote is actually on our hangtag, which comes with every YANA Gifts.  It’s a quote from Aesop and it reads, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”

Where can our community go to learn more about YANA? 

Please visit us at our website, www.YANAcares.com, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/YANAcares.