Mother/daughter help women from around the world
A mother-daughter duo is celebrating Mother's Day by promoting the work of women artisans at their local fair trade gift shop. For more than 24 years, Pauline Kennel and her daughter, Janice Kennel Ropp, have managed the Gifts of the World fair trade shop in Schaumburg.
When Christ Community Mennonite Church bought the property at 888 S. Roselle Road in 1993, Pauline, then co-pastor, and her daughter Janice had the vision to open a fair trade gift shop in the house adjacent to the church.
Both had enjoyed shopping at other fair trade stores and knew it could be a great way to support artisans in developing countries by providing skills and jobs to feed their families and send their children to school.
The store orders products from 35 countries through the fair trade organizations Ten Thousand Villages and Serrv. Items sold at the shop are handcrafted and, thanks to an all-volunteer staff, all profits go directly to the artisans, many of them mothers. Shoppers can find everything from jewelry, scarves, baskets, instruments and purses to games, candle holders, chocolate and coffee.
Although Pauline retired in 2009, Janice is proud to carry on her mother's legacy as volunteer manager, especially with Mother's Day around the corner.
"Shopping for Mother's Day gifts at Gifts of the World is a wonderful way to help women rise out of poverty by paying them a fair wage," said Janice.
"Purchasing a beautiful hand-dyed silk scarf from Bangladesh or jewelry made by women in India not only makes a wonderful gift for a special mother in your life, but also supports the woman who actually made it."
In addition to the unusual gifts located within the shop, the building itself has a unique history. Gifts of the World is situated in a house that was once home to famous band leader Wayne King. Directly behind the store, Christ Community Mennonite Church and The Big Barn Preschool are housed in a historic, renovated dairy barn that predates all the surrounding buildings in the area.
Gifts of the World is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, with added shopping days in the fall. In honor of Mother's Day, the store is offering shoppers $5 off any $25 purchase during the month of May.
For information, call (847) 895-3676 or visit the Gifts of the World Fair Trade Store page on Facebook.
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