As I’ve mentioned before, the Philly blogging community is I have been able to meet some amazing people through social media who are doing incredible things. One of those incredible people is Sarah Ripoli. Sarah recently founded Angel Energy, which aims to “inspire women to overcome obstacles in life by spreading optimism and positivity”. She is here today to share her story, and I’m so lucky to have her here. <3
Welcome to Positive Publicity, Sarah! Tell us a bit about yourself.
I grew up in south jersey right outside of Philadelphia but recently moved to Hoboken, NJ so I’m about 15 minutes away from NYC! I graduated from Monmouth University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations in May 2014 but found myself doing accounting and finance recruiting for the first 4 ½ years after college. I started my fashion blog as a creative outlet in July 2018 and took the plunge to pursue my dreams of blogging full time at the end of February 2019 with plans to start my own business.
Your blog is called Scoop by Sarah, and this is how I originally found you. Tell us a bit why you started blogging and what that experience has been like.
For a long time I didn’t feel aligned with my career in recruiting and finally realized that not feeling fulfilled at work dictated my overall happiness. I have always been more of the artsy/creative type, so sitting in a cubicle talking to accountants all day didn’t give me an outlet to express myself. I knew being a recruiter wasn’t what I wanted to do forever, but didn’t know how or when I would be ready to leave. I thought about it for a very long time and decided if I were to ever take a risk like this it would have to be now, at this place in my life and I haven’t looked back since.
From events in Philly to NYC, brand collaborations, and the community that came with it, what I initially started as a hobby quickly turned into my whole world. As much as my career in Corporate America didn’t fulfill me, it definitely prepared me with all of the skill sets I needed to strategically build/manage my personal brand.
You are the Co-Founder of Angel Energy, a philanthropic movement to stop domestic violence. Can you tell us why you started Angel Energy?
When I was six years old, right before I turned seven, I lost my mom to domestic violence. It was never something that I talked about until this year, even though I am so open to speaking about it now. It always felt like a piece of me was missing, and as silly as it sounds it took me a while to realize what it was. This part of me that I hid from the world for so long.
Having a strong social media presence has given me a voice, so using it to help raise awareness is the best thing I could possibly use it for. I hope Angel Energy inspires women everywhere that they are not alone. There are others who have experienced the same pain that they have, and it’s time to take a stand together, as a movement to prevent domestic violence. I know nothing can ever bring my mom back, but if I could inspire to save the life of even just one person it would be the closest possible feeling of being healed.
How can people support Angel Energy?
As a company, we donate 25% of all proceeds to a different domestic violence organization each month. In addition, on the Angel Energy website, we highlight what charity we’re donating to on our website in hopes people will visit to see what these charities are about, and if possible donate or get involved with whatever organization they feel the most connected to. This month we are donating to The JFCS Domestic Violence Program ironically called Project SARAH (Stop Abusive Relationships at Home). “Project SARAH offers multi-faceted services including resource information, safety planning, case management, counseling, support groups, and other forms of assistance for victims of domestic violence and their families.”
I find you to be such a strong, courageous and inspirational human being. What keeps you motivated and inspired?
My mom is my biggest motivation, even though she isn’t physically here. I know she is always watching down and I want to make her proud every second. She sacrificed her life to save mine so that in itself pushes me to live the best life I possibly can for the both of us.
You can follow Angel Energy on Facebook and Instagram, and Sarah’s Instagram here. Thank you Sarah!
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