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