A new local company, Face to Face Organics, in St. Anthony, is raising money to help Ethiopian children with facial deformities. With the sale of every tube of its organic lip balm, the company donates $1 to a program that helps correct such deformities.

Face to Face Organics was founded by recent University of Minnesota graduates Travis Brew and Jimmy Ennen, who met in school and shared a passion for entrepreneurship that would make a positive difference in the lives of others. They were later joined by a third partner, Chris Tastad.

Each tube of lip balm is hand-made with renewable energy and is GMO- and cruelty-free.

With each purchase, $1 automatically goes to Project Harar Ethiopia, which helps provide surgeries for poor children with such facial deformities as cleft lip, cleft palate and noma, a gangrenous disease that can lead to the destruction of tissue in the mouth and cheeks.

“Facial deformation in Africa is a serious and sad problem,” says Brew. “In communities stricken by extreme poverty and malnutrition, these problems can steal away basic functions like eating, speaking or smiling. In a country where the average annual salary is $1,200, it’s impossible for families alone to pay for correctional operations.”

The newest regular Face to Face outlet is the University of Minnesota, which now sells the organic lip balm in its law school bookstores and on the Twin Cities, Morris and Crookston campuses.

For more information, call 952-426-2233, email [email protected] or visit FaceToFace-Organics.com.