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.