About Us
About Us
“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.”
– Maya Angelou
All Are Welcome Here, LLC was founded in November of 2016 determined to celebrate, nurture, honor, and protect what makes Minnesota and the United States so great: ALL OF US.
All Are Welcome Here wants to do good and give back to our neighbors near and far by utilizing our design talents towards social issues important to us. We also work with schools, businesses, non-profits, and religious organizations on customized inclusion campaigns.
Our Mission
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
Our mission is to support a just, inclusive and equitable environment for All in our community and beyond. We believe that our diversity makes Minnesota and the United States truly great, and we are committed to taking concrete actions to support our mission and vision.
In 2022, we will continue to donate 10% of our “All Are Welcome Here” merchandise sales to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), an organization dedicated to protecting the rights of All. We chose to share a portion of our profits with the ACLU / ACLU-MN because of its non-partisan views on equal rights for All and its education and advocacy efforts. We believe important civil rights work will be done through the ACLU in the coming years.
To show our support for our transgender family, friends, and neighbors, we've also launched a line of transgender support items. Continuing in 2022, 10% of these sales will be donated to Transforming Families of Minnesota, a community where transgender, gender non-conforming, and questioning youth and their families come together to support each other in a safe, welcoming space.
Inspired by Kindness
“Don’t talk about it, be about it. Be about love. Be about respect. Be about empathy, kindness, inclusiveness, gratitude, patience, selflessness, humility, compassion, resolve and strength.”
– Bart Becker, Principal, Maple Grove High School
All Are Welcome Here was started by graphic designer, Jaime Chismar, a proud Minnesotan who grew up in Maple Grove, Minnesota. Jaime was deeply moved and inspired by the show of unity at Maple Grove High School after racist graffiti was found throughout the building in the wake of the 2016 presidential election. The signs of support written by the students in response to this graffiti inspired her to make her own sign for her neighborhood, with the initial hope of raising money for her local food shelf. She put out a request on Facebook to fill an order for 50 signs. In turned out the demand was greater than she ever imagined.
The red crimson stripe in our sign is our deepest thank-you to the students and staff of Maple Grove High School who came together to support one another—and in doing so reminding us that acts of kindness great and small can make us All feel welcome. You can read more about the events at Maple Grove High School and listen to Principal Bart Becker's speech on MPR's NewsCut blog.