Optimisim for a new year, goals for 2023

Greetings, friends and supporters!

You haven’t heard from us in a while, so we wanted to let you know what we’re doing as this year comes to an end. The world is beginning to emerge from the stay-at-home situation we all found ourselves in when the pandemic hit. Like so many organizations, A Little Something’s work was put on hold indefinitely during this time. We’re excited that we’re almost ready to once again safely meet with our participants creating beautiful crafts and building community together. We’re not quite there yet, but we can be with a little help. More on that below.

We’ve been working in the background to keep our organization going since you heard from us last. During the pandemic, several things happened that impacted A Little Something’s wellbeing; however, we were extremely fortunate to benefit from so many people using the last couple of years as a time to organize their homes and studios—many supporters sent us fabulous supplies and other wonderful items, including metalsmithing equipment, a kiln, and looms that will allow us to greatly expand the ways our participants are able to create, express themselves, and earn money.

Early in 2022 we were invited to partner with two local organizations. First, we provided hands-on jewelry-making lessons and projects to refugee and immigrant teen girls as part of their participation in the Healing Through Arts and Nature initiative. We were thrilled to have the opportunity to expand our reach in the community and help the girls learn new skills and along with a means of creative expression.

As you know, the refugee women in A Little Something keep 75 percent of the money when their items sell. Because of the pandemic, we had no sales for nearly two years. Fortunately, in our second partnership this year, we began a collaboration with Rivers and Roads Coffee, and we maintain a retail presence at their Curtis Park location in Denver. We look forward to establishing more partnerships going forward.

We lost our studio space in 2020, so we moved all of our supplies and set up a work space inside of a storage unit. We didn’t expect to still be in that situation, but because we’re resourceful, we make it work. It now looks like we’ve found our next studio and we hope to move in sometime in early 2023.

Although we’ve faced some significant challenges, we’re optimistic about what the future holds for us. The world can be a turbulent place, and for the women in our program, A Little Something is a place where they feel safe and welcomed and find encouragement and calm as they establish new lives. In 2023, we look forward to welcoming recently arrived women from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Cuba, and Democratic Republic of the Congo, along with the refugee women who have been a part of A Little Something for years.

As 2022 comes to an end, we have much to be grateful for as we’ve made it past our biggest obstacles; however, we need your financial support if we are to resume the work we’ve been doing since 2008. We hope you’ll help us meet our fundraising goal of $20,000 which will cover our biggest expenses, including rent and insurance. Please consider contributing to our work by clicking on the donate button below.

Thank you for believing in the value of community and the healing power of the creative for refugee women in Denver.

Click here to donate today.

And so we perservere--and you can help!

Every week, we receive inquiries from people wanting to know if we're still around. Indeed, we are. The last few years have been a bit disorienting and challenging in ways we had never imagined. Still, we're here.

At the start of the pandemic, we not only lost the ability to gather with our participants, but we also lost the studio space we had been subletting from another nonprofit organization. We made the decision to pack up our studio and put everything in storage until the world returned to a more normal state. Will it ever be normal? We can't say, but the world keeps turning, refugees have resumed U.S. arrivals, and we're ready to be back in the studio once again.

This Giving Tuesday (or any day, really) is the perfect time to help us revive our studio and get back to working with refugee women in Denver. The refugee community was hit particularly hard by the impact of Covid. The women in our organization were isolated, struggling, and largely unable to continue the process of community integration. Our participants need this safe gathering space now more than ever. We want to welcome them back, and that's where you come in.

A partner organization has offered us space in their new building. In order for us to accept that offer, we need your help. As we've always made clear, A Little Something operates on a shoestring budget as an all-volunteer organization. We don't receive any big grants or government assistance. We were unable to participate in the in-person fairs and festivals where we usually sold our merchandise, we we've had almost no income since early 2020. We have always depended on donations from our supporters to keep us up and running, and that's true now more than ever.

We depend on the support of our friends and community to help us with the nuts and bolts of everyday operation. Our $20,000 fundraising goal will allow us to serve more refugee women on their path to finding community, skills, and a sense of empowerment. Your contribution will help us with moving expenses, rent, utilities, insurance, furniture, and the other unglamorous but totally necessary expenses that come with operating a nonprofit.

 

A Little Something has served hundreds of refugee women in the Denver area since 2008. Your contribution will help us continue to serve even more. 

We have setup a donation link here.  If you prefer to use Paypal, please click here.

We remain grateful for the encouragement and support you are able to provide!