Today, we turn over our sign that hangs on the door of our little retail shop - from Open to Closed. And then we'll pack up the sign along with everything else in our shop and walk into a new chapter. We are expanding our work in some exciting ways that we'll be sharing here on the blog in coming weeks. In order to expand this work and focus on helping even more women in Ghana, we needed to evaluate how we could do that and continue to have a retail shop. Unfortunately, both weren't possible, and so we made the choice that we will always make: to do whatever it takes to help marginalized people gain access to education and income opportunities so they can live with dignity, purpose and passion. We believe this is God's heart for all people, and so we want to join God in this work. Our mission is unchanging, but we will always be open to changing the way we fulfill that mission.
So in the spirit of flexibility and openness, we'll be hitting the road to bring these products to homes, businesses, and venues in Tulsa. We will continue to have more items from the women in Ghana, as well as fair trade items from other nonprofits we have met along the way. We will also have the Rising Village products (baskets, bags, recycled glass jewelry and more) on the online store.
Today, we're closing the shop. Tomorrow, we're opening new ways to engage with our mission through pop-up shops, home parties, and venue events where you can "experience" the mission of our work in Ghana. After a few days of rest (hooray for Labor Day Weekend!), we'll be rolling out a our new model and letting you know how you can get in on it.
If you haven't signed up for our newsletter, you can do that here. We won't inundate you with emails, but we'll give you monthly news about our work in Ghana, introduce new products, and tell you how you can book home parties and locations for pop-up shops.
Thank you to those in Tulsa and beyond who have taken the time (and traveled the distance) to visit our shop on Route 66. It has been a joy to meet you, to show you the products, to introduce you to the women and children, and to share with you why we are passionate about what we do. You listened, purchased products, and joined us in creating beauty. And now, we're coming to you.
Onward!
Lisa