double the blessing

Can you believe the month of May is upon us this week?  With May comes Mother's Day and the end of the school year.  No Longer is hosting one big house party this season, so don't miss your chance to get a unique Mother's Day gift for someone special or to get a jump on end of the year teacher gifts!  Want to get your young girls involved in the shopping this time around?  They can be a part of the fun shopping for items priced within their budgets.  Seriously, there is a little something for everybody!  We'll have a lot of your favorites from past parties, but we will have a wider focus this time around.

By shopping at this party you will be giving a double blessing.  Not only will you be helping No Longer raise support and funds for the orphanage in Santo Domingo, you'll also be directly supporting men and women around the world who want nothing more than a way to feed and provide for their families.  We will be featuring more than a few great fair trade groups and non-profit organizations that produce unique, one-of-a-kind, handmade products, and we are so excited about it!

Light Gives Heat
"We want to do anything possible to not only help meet needs in Uganda though job creation, but also give the West a way to connect to individuals in Africa - in a personal way."  LGH employs and provides consistent income to women in Africa through the production of handmade jewelry.  Every piece is gorgeous and comes with a gift bag and card with the artisan's bio.  I love every bit of it and we will have a huge selection at the party.

 

Freeset

Freeset is located in Sonagacchi, the largest, most infamous sex district in Kolkata, India. Within a few square miles more than 10,000 women stand in line selling their bodies to thousands of men who visit daily. Many are trafficked from Bangladesh, Nepal and rural India. For others poverty has left them without options. The cries of their hungry children drive them to sell their bodies.  Women looking to escape or avoid this life have learned to sew and produce bags through employment with Freeset.  The women are paid around twice the going rate for an equivalent job elsewhere and as part of their employment package have health insurance and a pension plan. A woman is employed full-time to ensure that staff are able to access their health insurance entitlements.  Every woman who finds freedom through Freeset also brings freedom to her family. They find hope for a brighter future and the means to make it a reality.  We will be featuring beautiful bags and purses created by these courageous women.  We cannot wait for you to see them!
 

 

MudLove
MudLove is "a small love-centric business founded on the principle that giving is far better than receiving."  They give 20% of all sales to clean water in Africa through a faith-based organization called ICDI.  All MudLove products are handmade by a staff that "is fully committed to loving the people around them as well as those who are not."  We will have some inspirational MudLove bracelets available at the party.  And if all goes according to plan (fingers crossed), we will have bracelets stamped with No Longer ready for you to purchase!  They are perfect for women of all ages!

Acacia Creations

The mission of Acacia Creations has always been to improve lives in a long-lasting and sustainable way.  They go beyond fair trade by creating jobs, providing training, and giving back to the community through education and healthcare initiatives, working directly with hundreds of craftsmen and women at a Nairobi studio and across East Africa to improve their skills and product designs.  We will feature several different products like bracelets and wooden bowls and serving pieces from this great group.


 

Open Arms
Every year, thousands of refugees flee oppression around the world and are resettled in America.  To help them avoid the trap of poverty, Open Arms employs refugees at a living wage to create one-of-a-kind products using recycled t-shirts.  We are happy to be featuring skirts and headbands made by these refugees.

Global Mamas
Global Mamas transforms the lives of women in Africa by creating sustainable income opportunities which lead to financial independence. Global Mamas reduces the economic inequality of women by significantly increasing wages and generating new jobs through the production and export of fair trade products. This in turn improves the standard of living for women, their families, and the larger community.  We will be featuring purses, bags, and headbands made by Global Mamas artisans.

2nd Story Goods
This is a group of "co-laboring women and a few good men, working together in Haiti to make beautiful things and create sustainable income for our families."  We will feature jewelry and other housewares made from recycled glass and pottery found in Haiti.  The artisans who create the pieces for 2nd Story Goods are able to provide for their families and work to bring their communities out of poverty.

 

We look forward to seeing you and your friends at the party this weekend!