Perhaps you saw us on the news?

 Recently, a pair of journalists from KMGH Denver 7 spent a morning with us. Did you know we've been working out of a storage unit since the summer of 2020? We could use a hand. Follow this link for more information. 

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!

For current information, visit our website

Search engine algorithms being what they are, lots of folks who are looking for us end up here. We don't update the blog very often as we do most of our posting on Facebook and Instagram. You can find current information, our video, and donation information on our website, www.refugeecrafts.org. See you over there!

 

Help us conquer our holiday sales season!

Hello, friends and followers! We really need some help. Our very busy event season is upon us, but we have almost no volunteers available to help us out. If we don't have anyone to help at an event, we'll have to cancel our participation. We don't want to do that because this is the time of year that our refugee artists bring in 90-percent of their income from the items they create at A Little Something.

For every event listed here, we also need help with setting up the display (usually the day/evening before) and packing up at the end of the event. If you're only available for part of a day, we can probably make that work. We especially need help with the sale in Evergreen. It's our biggest event of the year, but so far, we have no one willing to take this one on or even to get our items up to or back from Evergreen.

What you would do:
Volunteers greet customers, share our mission and product knowledge, and complete sales transactions at various craft and fair trade events around Denver. We are looking for volunteers who are able to volunteer for an entire day or just a shift at these events.

Duties may include:
Transporting, setting up or breaking down the sales display
Keeping the sales display stocked and attractively arranged
Handling cash/check/card sales
Sharing our story with customers.

Volunteers often work in teams at events.

Volunteers are passionate about our mission to empower Denver's refugee women through this local income generation craft project and share this knowledge of refugees and refugee participants' stories with customers. The service of our volunteers enables A Little Something to further its work to make a meaningful difference in the lives of Denver's refugee artisans.

If you can help us out or if you have questions, please send an email to refugeecrafts@gmail.com.

Global Gift Fair 2019
Saturday, 11/2, & Sunday, 11/3
9am-2pm each day
Atonement Lutheran Church
6281 W. Yale, Lakewood, 80227

Evergreen Alternative Gift Fair 2019
Saturday & Sunday 11/9 & 11/10
Sat 9am-4pm Sun 9am-3pm
Evergreen Lutheran Church
5980 Highway 73, Evergreen 80439

Holiday Sale 2019
Tuesday 11/12
4-7:30 pm
Bear Valley Church
10001 W Jewell Ave, Lakewood, 80232

World Gift Mart 2019
Saturday 11/23 & Sunday 11/24
Sat 9am-4pm, Sun 9am-2pm
First Universalist Church of Denver
4101 E Hampden Ave, Denver, 80222

Alternative Gift Fair 2019
Sunday 12/1
8 a.m.-12p.m.
Glory of God Lutheran Church,
12200 W 38th Ave, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033

Montview Mission & Fair Trade Christmas Market 2019
Saturday 12/7 9am-3pm
Sunday 12/8 8am-12:30pm
Montview Presbyterian Church
1980 Dahlia St., Denver, 80220

Alternative Gift Market
Sunday, 12/8
8am-12pm.
Arvada United Methodist Church
6750 Carr St, Arvada 80004

Help us with studio care

Saturday, August 3

10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

1609 Havana St.

Aurora, Colorado

Bring your super-organizing and tidying skills and put them to work for a good cause benefiting refugees.

• Sort beads!
• Categorize craft supplies!
• Sort more beads!
• Put beads into little bags!

Through the creative process of making handmade crafts, A Little Something facilitates empowerment and psycho-social support for refugee women in Denver.

Several months ago, we moved into a new space that’s a fraction the size of our previous studio. We’re bursting at the seams and tripping over stacks of boxes. We need to tidy up so our studio can once again be safe, functional and welcoming.

Please help! No special skills are needed—just patience and a willingness to sort supplies and put things away. This is a big job. We have many donations of beads and supplies to get ready for our artists to use. Many hands make light work!

If you can help us on August 3, please sign up here to let us know to expect you. Alternately, you can also send an email to mariana4volunteers@gmail.com to sign up.

Join us for dinner!

Friends, on March 20, 2019 we will partner with Comal Heritage Food Incubator for Comal's March Impact Dinner. Support both organizations while also enjoying fabulous international cuisine in an intimate  gathering. We look forward to sharing a meal with you! Read on for more information and ticket details.

Comal's March 2019 Impact Dinner takes a totally new approach to the beloved monthly series, bringing together an all-star lineup of the culinary incubator's most talented chefs. Under the guidance of Executive Chef Tim Bender, each chef will have one course to highlight her own heritage cuisine, resulting in an internationally inspired menu demonstrating the rich flavors and techniques found in Mexican, Syrian and Ethiopian foods.

Early Bird tickets are now on-sale through Sunday, March 10th at 11:30pm for $60 per person, all inclusive. The full menu will be announced on Monday, March 11th. Additionally, six elevated Chef’s Counter tickets are available for $125 per person, providing VIP guests with additional exclusive beverages and delicacies, while sitting up-close-and-personal with all of the action in the kitchen.

Focus Points Family Resource Center (the nonprofit parent behind Comal), Friends and Family (a nonprofit organization comprised of, and designed to serve, Colorado's hospitality industry employees), and A Little Something have partnered to host this special event. Proceeds will benefit Focus Points and A Little Something.

A Little Something is dedicated to fostering empowerment, psycho-social support, and community to refugee women living in the Denver metro area. By crafting and selling handmade goods, participants in the program learn new skills while also recovering self-esteem and finding creative expression as they work through the challenges of resettlement. For many of the women, the money they earn through this social enterprise is the first income of their own they've ever had, which, along with financial literacy, is often a first-step to empowerment and self-sufficiency. The A Little Something studio is a safe space for sharing, healing, and collaboration for refugee women who are processing their next steps in a new life.

Click here for ticket information.

Our studio is moving!

We'll be moving to a new (temporary) space at the end of March 2019. If you'd like to help us with that monumental task, please contact our volunteer coordinator at mariana4volunteers@gmail.com to sign up.

We expect to get started at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 23, but we'll need to start packing the week before that on Saturday, March 16 and Wednesday, March 20.

The studio is located near Havana and E. Colfax in Aurora, Colorado. Our destination will be close by. We'll give you the exact address once you're on the schedule to help us with the move.

We're getting ready to move, but first, a de-stash is in order!

Farewell, friend.

Earlier this week, one of the founding members of A Little Something died. To call her a founding member doesn't really describe the role she played in helping to establish this organization. We'd like to take a few minutes to tell you about Moumina Marketi, known to most as Mama Moumina. She came to be a bit legendary in the history of A Little Something.

When A Little Something was still just an idea and not yet an organization, the majority of the women who were interested were ethnic Bantu from Somalia. The Somali Bantu arrived in the U.S. with more challenges than most, but they had a solid community structure that helped them work together to navigate their resettlement and the overwhelming cultural differences they encountered upon arrival. The community was led by a council of elders, and Mama Moumina was the apex of that hierarchy. She was deeply respected and her opinions held tremendous influence in the Bantu community.

It wasn't until Mama Moumina met with us and then gave her blessing deeming A Little Something to be a good idea that the Somali Bantu women felt that they could be a part of it. She encouraged all of the women in her community to at least give it a try. She knew that for these women to be able to earn their own money (that they could keep) was going to be deeply empowering and she wanted to see it happen.

Mama Moumina was what many would call a character. She was a small woman with a huge personality and a commanding presence (we were all a little afraid of her, to be honest). She was wise, strict, and often very, very funny. She could silence a room with a withering stare or say just a few words and leave everyone in fits of laughter. She was a force to be reckoned with, and if it hadn't been for her endorsement of our project in those beginning days--and her willingness to lead by example by trying something new and unfamiliar herself--A Little Something probably wouldn't have gotten started.

Mama Moumina had been a skilled basket weaver in Africa and wanted to continue weaving in Denver. Unable to find the traditional African materials she was familiar with, she worked with our co-founding member, Anna, to try applying her skills using unconventional materials such as plastic bags and fabric. Making jewelry did not come easily to her, but she was determined to try--and keep trying. Eventually, her husband, Shamura, followed her lead and he became the first and only male participant in A Little Something.

Mama Moumina didn't care for Colorado winters, so after two years in Denver, she moved to be with relatives in Arizona. We didn't see her much after that, but others in the community let us know she was doing well and was happily enjoying the Phoenix sunshine.

Today we mourn the loss of someone who deeply influenced our organization. Our thoughts are with Shamura and all of Moumina's family today.

We need a tablet--can you help?

Did you recently upgrade your Samsung tablet, iPad or iPad mini? Is the one you replaced still in good working condition with a functioning battery? Looking to donate it?

A Little Something needs a tablet--preferably a seven-inch size, but any size will do if it works, still has good battery life, and has a headphone jack and Bluetooth. We don't need a ton of memory. We'll use our tablet for internet access (to watch instructional videos) and, most importantly, to use our Square Point of Sale register/credit card reader when we attend events (you know, the one you sign with your finger).

If you can help us out, please send an email to refugeecrafts@gmail.com. Please spread the word. Thanks!

Last chance to shop before Christmas

On Saturday, December 10, we're hosting a sale at our home location, Mango House in Aurora. We want to finish the year on a financial high note for our participants, and we also need to raise money for our studio rent.

In addition to selling the beautiful items our participants make, we're also selling off our impressive yarn stash ($1-$5 a skein), some craft supplies, items that were donated that we can't or don't use, items that didn't pass quality control, and all kinds of stuff that's taking up room in our studio. We want to start 2017 in a space that is less cluttered and more accommodating to the makers and creators who gather there. We also need to raise money for our 2017 rent!

Please come, nibble some cookies, drink some tea, and shop! We accept cash, checks, and most major credit cards. We hope to see you there!