Schaumburg fair trade store closing after 30 years
Gifts of the World fair trade gift shop in Schaumburg, which opened 30 years ago, is closing. Gifts of the World, a ministry of Christ Community Mennonite Church, opened in 1994, when the church purchased the property at 888 S. Roselle Road, before the barn on the property was renovated into a church with the sanctuary on the second floor and the Big Barn Preschool on the first floor.
The founding pastors, LeRoy and Pauline Kennel, encouraged the congregation to utilize the house on the property in front of the old dairy barn, for ministries for the community and soon opened the Gifts of the World shop and Transitions Counseling Center, both located in the house.
Regular customers in the community (and others that traveled from as far as Wisconsin), came to Gifts of the World to shop for unique, handmade items that were made in developing countries such as Haiti, Vietnam, Kenya, Uganda, India, Peru, Guatemala, Philippines, Bangladesh and the West Bank. The store is run completely by volunteers, so that the artist gets the majority of the cost of the item and can receive a living (fair) wage. The gift shop has supported many, many artisans around the world over the past 30 years.
Ever since COVID, the store has struggled, like many other retail shops, and has had difficulty staffing it with volunteers, to be open more days. We have made the difficult decision to close the store in the next couple of months (as soon as most of the merchandise has sold).
Beginning Jan. 6, everything in the shop will be 30% off in honor of the 30 years it has been open in Schaumburg. The store is open every Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is located in the blue-gray house in front of the renovated dairy barn at 888 S. Roselle Road in Schaumburg . For information, call (847) 895-3676.
After the store has its final closing, you are encouraged to continue to support artisans in developing countries by purchasing items from the fair trade organizations the store orders from: Ten Thousand Villages (www.tenthousandvillages.com) and Serrv International (www.serrv.org). In the meantime, come shop for beautiful decor and gifts and get a great discount!