We're online!

Just in time for the holiday season, we've opened a shop on Etsy. Click here to take a look around. For the moment, the inventory is small, but it will grow as items are added.

If you're looking for stocking stuffers, browse our earrings, wrap, and stretch bracelets. All are affordably priced and one-of-a-kind creations.

Share a little sparkling happiness this holiday season and know your purchase supports a very worthwhile cause!

Add us to your browser favorites and check back often for updated inventory! http://www.etsy.com/shop/denverrefugeecrafts

It’s Winter Sale Time and We Need Your Help!

Our peak sales season is upon us, and we are very short-handed when it comes to staffing sales. without anyone to represent us at these events, we have no way to sell the items the women in our program make. We depend on volunteers to staff our booth and tell our story. Can you help? Have any friends who might be interested in helping??? If you're available and willing, please contact Kristen.Damron@lfsco.org soon!

Please let Kristen know:
· If you are available to help with any of the sales opportunities listee below
· Hours you are available (we can be flexible and assign shifts)
· Any special concerns/needs you may have
· Let me know if you are able to load sale stuff in your car

If you sign up for an event, Kristen will send you more details about the sale as the date draws near.

Volunteer Opportunities:

November 4 & 5: Shop for a Cause
Highline Community Church (6325 S. University Blvd. Centennial, CO 80121)
Friday 4-7PM: (We're desperate here)
Saturday 10:00 – 4:00 PM

November 12: Ye Olde Yuletide Bazaar
Town of Parker Field House (Dransfeldt & Plaza Drive)
Set up 7AM / Tear down starts at 4PM
Saturday: 7:00AM- 6:00 PM


November 15th: Bear Valley Church:
Sale hours: 4PM-7PM.
A Tuesday.  Set up at 3:00 – tear down by 8:00PM

November 19 & 20: Global Gift Fair
Set up starts 7:30AM (Saturday)/ Tear down starts 3PM (Sunday)
Saturday sale 7:30 – 2PM
Sunday sale 9:00 – 4:00PM

November 19 & 20: First Universalist Church of Denver
World Gift Market
Provides coffee/bagels and soup for lunch- Bring an empty water bottle to fill for H2O
Set up starts at 7:30(Saturday)/ tear down starts at 2PM (Sunday)
Saturday Sale: 7:30 AM- 4PM
Sunday Sale: 9AM -3:30PM

Please join us on June 14, 15, and 16 for

Refugees in Focus
A film festival commemorating
World Refugee Day

Three days, seven films, ten million stories

All films will be shown at Emily Griffith Technical College in downtown Denver. The roster includes the new documentary, Welcome to Shelbyville, as well as six other films that explore refugee issues both in the U.S. and abroad.

Watch. Think. Discuss.

For the full listing of the films scheduled and more about this event plus other World Refugee Day activities in Denver, please click here .

Women's programs build community, confidence

This post is from the blog for the Colorado Refugee ESL Program, an organization that partners with A Little Something.

Kristen Damron understands the Chinese proverb that "women hold up half the sky." She also knows that refugee women have a particularly challenging situation ahead of them when they are resettled in the United States. Kristen is the Women's Programs Coordinator for Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS) in Denver.

In her work, Kristen sees that refugee women are expected--by their families and by their communities--to keep up with their roles as homemakers, mothers, and wives while also facing the often incredibly difficult challenges that resettlement brings. Kristen stated that, "Women are a marginalized population, regardless of which community they're in. They have a number of disadvantages. Within the refugee population, they're the backbone to a household and are tasked with raising the kids, running the household, as well as getting a job. They are the key to the family's success in the U.S., even if the family doesn't realize that. The greater the woman's success, the greater the chances of her family's success."

Women are less likely to take time for themselves and to take care of their own needs, even though they would benefit from support during the resettlement process. In many cultures, men don't share in child care or housekeeping responsibilities, and this means that women's adjustment and familiarity with a new culture may lag. Within the Colorado Refugee Network, the in-home ESL tutoring program is one program that strives to address some of the issues of isolation and language deficiency that refugee women may face. This program, however, addresses the issues one woman at a time, but can't build a support system within each ethnic community.

LIRS offers several programs specifically to support and empower refugee women. According to Kristen Damron, "The programs are designed to be supportive, holistic, and empowering for the women. They're supportive in that women are often somewhat excluded from integration into American society because of language, education, social barriers, and family responsibilities. Our programs give these women a way to come together and support each other. The programs include financial literacy, WorkStyles for women (a job readiness course), community support groups, a microenterprise program that also partners with A Little Something (the Denver Refugee Women's Crafts Initiative), and most recently, a health awareness and education program.

In the financial literacy program, a partnership with Emily Griffith Opportunity School, the group talks about the basics of household finances and money (in general) in the United States. The women's care groups bring together women from the same ethnic community for gatherings at the apartment complexes where the women live. They learn about their rights and responsibilities in the United States, they discuss topics related to domestic violence and personal safety, and they work on life skills, but also build supportive relationships with each other over the course of the sessions. To see a group in action, take a look at the video posted here.

Currently, the Women's Care Groups are in need of volunteers. Volunteers can provide transportation for the women who live at sites other than where the gatherings take place. Volunteers are also needed to work with the community leaders in helping to lead their groups. Two volunteers work with each group. Right now there are four groups, but Kristen hopes to expand that to at least eight in order to accommodate more participants.

Later this spring, Kristen will launch the first Women's Health Walk and Fair in Cheesman Park in Denver on Saturday, May 14. According to Kristen, "We wanted to create a special event to commemorate National Women's Health Week. We wanted our event to to be special and to celebrate these women, their health, and their importance in their families, and we wanted to do that in a way that would bring the rest of the community--what we call the "receiving community" together with these newcomers. We also wanted to create a way to help these women see that they're values and their health and their bodies are valued. We also want the women themselves to be involved with and excited about the event and the concepts we're presenting.

The Women's Health Walk and Fair is free and will feature guest speakers, health education information, cultural offerings, nutrition information, and yoga in the park. Volunteers are needed to help with the event, especially those with a background in healthcare. Also, Kristen had hoped to provide event T-shirts for the participants, but there is no funding for that. A donation of event T-shirts would be gratefully accepted!

If you would like to volunteer at this event or with a Women's Care Group, please contact Kristen Damron at kristen.damron@lfsco.org.

Kristen said that volunteering isn't the only way to help refugees have a better resettlement experience. "Really, the first thing people can do for refugees is to be friendly. Smile, have enough guts to start a conversation--even if you're waiting in line, go ahead and strike up a conversation--and don't be afraid to have a welcoming demeanor. Just starting that conversation will make someone very happy because you've acknowledged that they are here and they are included."

--SM

A Little Honor!

If you live in the Denver area and you've come to any of our sales, you may have met Amina Salat, one of our teen members and all-around helpers. Amina was recently honored with a "9 Kids Who Care" award from KUSA, the NBC affiliate in Denver, for her dedication to helping others through community service.

In addition to receiving her award at a luncheon and ceremony last weekend, Amina was also profiled on the news yesterday. Amina doesn't just spend time with A Little Something; she also volunteers at SAME Cafe in Denver, and is a leader in Growing Colorado Kids, a local urban farming initiative that shares its harvest with those in need. Amina is the daughter of Fatuma, one of our original members, who was profiled on this blog recently. In addition to her school and volunteer work, Amina is indispensable helping her mom at home.

Congratulations, Amina! This recognition is well-deserved, and we are very proud of you.

Click here to read the story on the 9News Website, or simply watch the video, below.

Monthly gathering!

We have a monthly meeting coming up this Saturday. The lesson du jour will be: Earrings. This includes knowing the parts of an earring, turning a headpin, using the correct wire cutters, and creating a pleasing, market-worthy design.

If you are a crafty earring maker and you know your way around headpins, earwires, and the related jewelry-making tools, please join us. We can use help from skilled jewelry makers!

Monthly Members' Meeting

Saturday, March 19

9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Emily Griffith Opportunity School

1250 Welton St. Room 118

Denver

If you'd like to join us, please contact Kristen Damron at kristen.damron@lfsco.org for further instructions.

In pictures

Here are some glimpses of our most recent member gathering. We started with a getting-to-know-you activity that had an embedded English lesson in it. The women got some language practice, while also getting to know each other a little better.

This month, the creative focus was on learning colors--including what matches and what clashes. Katrina's excellent lesson also urged the women to consider the many types of patterns that can be made in a piece of jewelry when the creator changes the size of the beads or how they alternate. The women came away with a much clearer understanding of how to plan a design instead of making it up as they go along. A fun and successful day all around!

Feeling crafty?

Our monthly meeting with our crafters is coming up this Saturday, February 19. If you'd like to help us do some jewelry making and merchandise tagging, please stop by!

Emily Griffith Opportunity School

1250 Welton St., Room 118

Denver

We're on the east side of the Colorado Convention Center. On Saturdays, you can only enter the building from the center back alley door across from the auto mechanics area. Proceed down the stairs and follow the noise.

Parking might be a challenge! The Colorado Garden & Home Show is going on across the street, and parking spaces will be at a premium. Take public transportation if you can!

Crafty travels

Here at A Little Something, we love the idea of providing a venue for our members to continue making their traditional crafts. Around the world, artisans are becoming teachers in order to foster an appreciation for their work and raise awareness of the traditional processes that are part of making beautiful, handcrafted items.

Salon.com is currently hosting a slide show of 14 intriguing vacations you can take to spend time and learn from crafters around the world. Take a look and imagine yourself learning an age-old art on a creative vacation. If you have no travel plans, at least take a moment to appreciate the time, skill, and heritage that go into these culturally-significant crafts.

Weaving in Guatemala. Photo: TRAMA on Salon.com

Wishing things were different

A Little Something is changing, evolving. Members have come and gone, founders have moved on, new faces appear at each monthly meeting.

The meetings are too chaotic to allow us the opportunity to sit and talk with the new members, so we’ve reached a point where we know the names of most of the women, but we don’t much about them other than country of origin. This is much different from the early days when we knew important and often intimate details about each member’s situation. Perhaps it’s just a reality of growth and open-call meetings.

Some of our original members came to yesterday’s meeting. Sharifo, Fadumo, and Sahara showed up after missing many months of contact with us. Fatuma came, too, but chose to sit among newcomers rather than settle in with familiar faces.

I watched Fatuma with some sadness. I’ve written about her before on this blog. She has a large family but a mostly absentee husband who has all but abandoned his family in favor of a more carefree life. This has left Fatuma to struggle as essentially a single mother of eight, with another baby due in February. She doesn’t want to discuss the baby. It is doubtful the circumstances of her pregnancy were ever happy at any point.

Halfway through our gathering, I noticed that Fatuma was wearing athletic shoes that were obviously men’s shoes and easily three sizes too big. “Fatuma,” I said, “where are your shoes? These shoes are too big and you might fall.”

Fatuma laughed nervously and said these were her son’s shoes and the only ones she had right now. I hoped that the money she had just received for her recent jewelry sales would be put toward a decent pair of shoes for herself, but I know better. Fatuma never takes care of herself first. She spends her jewelry pay on her kids, on food, on necessities.

The family is struggling worse than ever, but Fatuma is not one to complain. I could see that she was clearly not her usual cheery self on Saturday, though. Her affect was somewhat flat, and she seemed preoccupied as she went through the motions of making beaded key chains. She didn’t want to chat. She seemed lost in her own thoughts.

At the end of the day, Fatuma helped us clean up, and when it was time to load up Jaime’s and my cars, Fatuma reached down and picked up two heavy, overly-stuffed canvas bags of supplies. I reminded her she shouldn’t be picking up anything so heavy. I thought about her pregnancy and the effort it must take to not only haul heavy bags up the stairs, but to do so in ill-fitting shoes. She insisted she was fine.

I had agreed to give Fatuma a ride home. I helped get her situated in the passenger seat and as I clicked her seat belt closed, I asked her what size shoes she wears. She said she couldn’t remember. Her feet looked cartoonish—oversized red and white basketball shoes poking out from beneath a traditional floral Somali wrap dress.

As we drove diagonally across Denver toward Fatuma’s house, she blurted out, “Sharon, I need help.” I know that Fatuma needs a world of help, and that for the most part, I’m not in a position to provide it. I asked Fatuma what was wrong.

“I need a washer. My washer broken. Finished. Sharon, I have eight kids, and in two months…” Her voice trailed off. She told me her children were washing their clothes by hand in the tub so they would be OK for school. Fatuma had faced a lot of challenges, but this one was beyond her ability to solve.

I know that her husband’s chronic absence and neglect mean the family never has enough money for food, no money for shoes, and definitely no money for a washer. Fatuma had struggled stoically through personal hurt, lack of support from her own community, the stress of trying to help her kids—especially when they got in trouble or faced insurmountable challenges at school—yet if you were to ask her how she was, how life was, she would always smile and say, “OK. Everybody’s good. We’re OK. Fatuma is not one to ever admit that things are not OK, nor is she ever likely to ask anyone to step in on her behalf. It’s the kind of thing you have to stumble upon in the course of a visit.

I was surprised that Fatuma had freely offered up the information that things weren’t going well at home. It was the lack of a washer and dryer that finally made her feel a sense of frustration and defeat that would have made anyone else crumple long ago that got her to come out and ask for help.

Fatuma went on to say that she can’t do anything. She wants to go to school, but she can’t because she has no access to daycare. I reminded her that despite this, she never misses the Saturday class she has attended four the past four years. She speaks English quite well for someone who hasn’t had the benefit of formal education. She always tries to speak English whenever possible instead of relying on her kids to translate everything. She looks for ways to learn and to help herself and her kids. She works multiple urban farming plots to provide healthy produce for her family from spring through fall. I reminded her that she’s a very good mom who is raising nice kids. She pays her bills, somehow. She is not on welfare. I told her that many people have trouble because they don’t try to help themselves, but she should feel good about trying to do everything she could to make her life better.

Fatuma was quiet for a minute. She looked at me and said, “Thank you. Today I’m tired.” Then, with great sincerity, she told me that she likes the way I drive—carefully and not too fast. I laughed at the turn of conversation topic and told her other drivers don’t like me very much for the exact reasons she thought I was a good driver.

As we pulled up in front of her house, Fatuma thanked me again. I promised to take her shoe shopping next week. I told her I’d think about how we could get her a good, sturdy, and reliable washer and dryer that will last a long time, but no promises that I had any answers.

I spent the night fretting over Fatuma’s situation. She has always tried so hard, she has a steady, can-do attitude, yet the universe seems determined to keep throwing obstacles in her path. There are issues of culture involved here, certainly, but there is also a large dose of life being unfair to someone who deserves a break. I can’t even imagine, given all that goes in Fatuma’s world, what a simple relief it must be to sit quietly among other women now and then, stringing beads into cheery combinations and not worrying (for an hour or so) about how she’s going to manage hospital bills or life without a desperately-needed washer and dryer.

—SM

(We are trying to help Fatuma get new appliances--something with a warranty, something that will last and stand up to the task at hand. If you are interested in contributing to this effort, click here.)

Sale season has begun!

Denver-area folks:
Join us for our first of the 2010 holiday sales!

Shop for a Cause

Friday, October 29, 4pm - 7pm

Saturday, October 30, 10am – 3pm
University Park United Methodist Church
2180 S. University Blvd., Denver

Shop for beautifully crafted, one-of-a-kind gifts that are made and sold by organizations that directly benefit people in need. You will find an incredible array of products that are as unique as the individuals and organizations that make them. Each purchase you make supports and empowers people in need, whether they are in downtown Denver or across the globe.

Determination

After our meeting on Saturday, Jaime made sure that Guadence had a ride home so she wouldn't have to repeat her five-mile walk--and with no lunch. Like many refugees, Guadence doesn't have the $70 needed for a monthly bus pass. It's common for the refugees to lose a ot of the English they've learned as more and more days pass without access to their English classes.

When Jaime got home on Saturday, she wrote:

Even though Gaudence isn't going to English anymore, she is determined to learn. When I was at her house, she showed me her notebook. She is in the process of copying her entire English/Swahili dictionary by hand into her spiral bound notebook. Pages and pages of handwritten words and definitions, many of which she would have no use for, all in alphabetical order. It broke my heart a little bit, but also I was amazed by her determination.

We always tell people outside of the resettlement world that refugees aren't victims; they are survivors and they survived to see today because they are determined and resourceful. Sometimes, a little help feeds a little hope, and that goes a long way when you're building a new life--from scratch.

Humming along

On the third Saturday of each month, the members of A Little Something are invited to meet for a few hours of crafting instruction, to learn, drink some tea, and enjoy the company of other women. Sometimes we have a dozen members in attendance, and sometimes just a few. We never know for sure who's coming or who even understood that it was this Saturday.

Sometimes, when the turnout is small, we wonder if we're losing momentum, or maybe the women just aren't that interested after all. This year has been a year of big changes for A Little Something, as well as a year of growing pains and trying to envision a realistic, sustainable future. All of that forward thinking has sometimes meant that spending time with the refugee women has been secondary to getting the business on track for a healthy future. It's not a stretch to think the women might drift away.

Eventually, we find out things like the fact that many women have no access to a buss pass and no cash for bus fare, so they don't attend the meetings. There are weddings and funerals, and this weekend, a major holiday for the ethnic Nepalese. It's not so much about enthusiasm as the realities of modern and traditional life all at once.

This week was no different. Women we had expected didn't come. Others came unexpectedly. Just when we thought the group might be small, our two translators from Burma arrived and eagerly jumped in and joined a lesson on making beaded key fobs. Fatuma and Hajia showed up after their Saturday English class where our project originated three years ago. Then, eight Burmese Karenni/Kayah women arrived, tentatively entering the room. They were there to learn about the weaving co-op.


Almost an hour-and-a-half into the meeting Guadence, a slight, middle-aged woman from Burundi, came in, carrying her tools and a bag of finished jewelry. Jaime looked up and said, "You're late!" Gaudence shook her head and said, "No bus pass. I come by leg."

It took a minute for that to sink in. Gaudence had just walked five miles from her apartment across town to our meeting location, determined not to miss it just because she lacked a bus pass.

This was a sobering moment for us as we realized that Gaudence had done what other women probably wanted to do but could not manage--she got to the meeting the only way she knew how. Once there, she was quickly absorbed in the keychain lesson, and was happily selecting beads for her projects. She never complained. She was happy just to have made it.

Refugees are amazing people. Challenges that many of us wouldn't even consider are not seen as unreasonable by many of these people. They have negotiated their way through situations we cannot even imagine.

Gaudence and her friend Rahima are almost desperate for the chance to spend time with other women, quietly creating beautiful crafts. The weavers were reserved at first, but eventually chatted excitedly about the idea that they were going to get the tools they needed to do something that is as culturally comforting as traditional food or speaking their first language.

Everyone comes to the gatherings for a reason, but we can't really know how important a respite or opportunity these gathering are for the members. The most we can do is keep showing up on the third Saturday of the month and being open to the experience that unfolds.

We have a Website

Take a moment to visit our new Website. Click here to view. It's nothing fancy, but it's helpful if you're trying to find specific information about our group.

For the most part, we've taken all of the information that's crammed into the right sidebar on this site and spread it out so it's easier to find and read.

Eventually, the "refugeecrafts.org" address that we use now will take you to the Website, not here. This blog isn't going away, though--in fact, the two sites now link to each other. Please let us know if there's something you think would be useful or helpful on our site that we may have overlooked or hadn't considered. We appreciate your feedback!

Are you up for a challenge?

Denver-area friends:

A Little Something is currently recruiting members for our Board of Directors, as well as someone to take over as our chief officer (president) in a few months.

Our Board is a working Board, and there is a lot to be done!

Solid business skills and an ability to work with diverse communities are musts. No compensation is provided, but the top Board and officer positions should expect to put in 10-20 hours per week for the time being. It's a labor of love, but a very rewarding and worthwhile use of one's time.

If you're interested in talking more, please contact us at beadwomen@gmail.com.

Rahima

Rahima is a fiber artist from Burundi. She is accustomed to making designs on fabric using batik and tie-dye. When she first heard about A Little Something at school, she was eager to join. We don't currently have a facility where we can work on textiles, so Rahima decided to learn jewelry making.

Her first attempts turned out to be very good. She has a wonderful eye for design and color. Her technical skills are coming along quickly.

After she finished her first batch of jewelry, she couldn't wait until the next monthly meeting to get feedback on her work and help with the things that were giving her trouble. She was very excited about her efforts, so a couple of weeks ago, we set up an appointment to meet during the hour between morning and afternoon classes.

Rahima's enthusiasm is contagious, and she's already working through her second bead-box refill. We sold several of her pieces at our August 1 sale--the first where her items were available.

Rahima hopes to get more involved with sales this fall so she can learn the business and practice her English. In the meantime, she's busy trying out new jewelry making techniques.

Volunteer!

We need knitters!

Our next lesson meeting with the members of A Little Something is scheduled for Saturday, August 21 (9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.). We are very much in need of some knitting instructors for this meeting! We would like to present a lesson on making mittens. We are also considering a lesson on socks.

If you are a knitter who makes mittens, you are patient, and you can help others learn how to make mittens (and maybe socks), please let us know as soon as possible: beadwomen@gmail.com.

Thanks!

A Little Thank You

In the past couple of weeks, we've been blessed by the generosity of others.

* We would like to thank JoAnn Ries at Rockin Beads in Aurora, Colorado for the beads she recently donated to our program. We've already distributed some of those to our jewelry makers.

* Slavica Park, whose generous contribution made it possible for us to buy the storage cabinet we needed so we could move into our office. This was a huge help!

* Leo Livecchi for giving up a precious Saturday to help build the cabinet.

* The kind, anonymous donor in Ohio who mailed us a bunch of goodies after she did some "stash thinning" of supplies. Great stuff and very helpful.

We are truly grateful for the help of friends and supporters, near and far. Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts. Your donations are important and mean the world to us.

A small addition to our wish list

We need a few items for our new office, but we could use some help from the super-shoppers out there. Please let us know if you can help.

We bought shelves, but that only addresses half of the storage situation. At the moment, our most pressing need is for a large cabinet, and Home Depot has exactly what we're looking for. It's a wardrobe manufactured by the ClosetMaid company. It's 48" wide and about 6-feet high. The price is $108. You can read about it here.

If you know where we can get this same item for less money, please let us know. We found one on Craigslist, but we don't have a truck to transport it or the muscles to move it into the building.

Since the office is small, we need to make the most of the space; good storage is going to be critical for us. Isn't that the truth for all crafters?

SM

Happy day!

We enjoyed our day at the outdoor market at City Park Esplanade in Denver this July 4th. The day got off to a slow start, but traffic picked up once the sun came out.

Our friend, Carol Amato, came early to help us set up. Amina Salat, one of our teen crafters and daughter of Fatuma, one of our very first members, spent the entire day helping out.

We didn't make much money, but we met a lot of really nice people, incuding the other artisan/crafter vendors who had some wonderful items for sale. We want to thank everyone who stopped by our booth to chat and those who pooled the last of their farmer's market shopping cash to buy a necklace or a pair of earrings.

We'll be back on Sunday, August 1, and Sunday, September 5 (Labor Day weekend). Hope to see you there!