Today, Mei Pan Jewelry is a company that is committed to helping the orphans of South East Asia. The proceeds made from the sale of Mei Pan Jewelry goes back to South East Asia to purchase diapers, winter clothes, washing machines, food, medicine, and whatever else is needed.
The story of Mei Pan Jewelry began half a world away in November of 2001. Julie Zimmermann, founder of Mei Pan Jewelry, embarked on a once in a lifetime trip to China. Little did she know how much her life would change when she stepped onto that fifteen-hour flight. During the two-week visit, Julie visited an orphanage where she promptly lost a piece of her heart. All she wanted to do was hold and play with these little children who at times literally fought for her affection. She wanted to help them and give them a better life. She wanted to take them all home. When Julie returned home from that trip, she knew two things. She knew that she would go back to China, and that she was going to adopt a baby from China.
In May of 2004, Julie and her husband, Bob, travelled to China to pick up their new daughter. The orphanage had named her Mei Pan. She had been found in a cardboard box as a newborn, and now she was going back to Minnesota to live with her new family. This new addition to the family only furthered Julie’s desire to help the children of South East Asia. She needed a way to raise money in order to buy diapers, food, clothing, and toys for the kids. Ever since her first trip to China, Julie had come back with beautiful jewelry. First for herself and her family, and then her friends were asking for jewelry too. Every woman loves jewelry, and Julie is no exception. Julie decided to combine her love for jewelry with her love for orphans and create a company. This company would sell this unique and beautiful jewelry in order to raise money for the orphans of South East Asia.
The combination of these two things seemed logical, but coming up with a name for the company wasn’t so easy. While trying to decide on a name for her jewelry company, Julie discovered that her daughter’s Chinese name, Mei Pan, had a most unexpected meaning. When translated into English, the name means Beautiful Hope. So, a company was founded that is dedicated to bringing beautiful hope to the orphaned.