Julia Williams
Julia Williams
Editor-in-Chief
Amidst the holiday season, between carving turkey and hanging stockings, one organization — and one mom in particular — is gearing up to enhance its residents’ professional development skills and give back to the Northeast community.
Sheffield Place — a nonprofit, rehabilitation institution for women and their children — will host its 10th annual Open House and Gift Bazaar, a come and go, no reservation required event, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Dec. 4 at its main location at 6604 E. 12th St.
The Open House portion offers an opportunity for the community — or anyone interested — to tour Sheffield Place’s main 12th Street location, which gives attendees a glimpse of the inner workings of this organization and the services it provides for its residents.
However, team members at Sheffield Place proposed the Gift Bazaar as a way for moms and additional residents to obtain micro-enterprise skills, including business management and supplemental income, Sheffield Place Development Manager, Stephanie Hoover said in an interview, Friday.
While Hoover said 10 to 12 moms traditionally participate to create and sell handmade items to the public — including Christmas ornaments, hair bows and for the first time this year, tutus — merchandise varies from year-to-year, depending on what each mom wants to hand-make.
She said Sheffield Place provides participants with funds for materials — allowing each mom to pay back half of this loan with proceeds they make from selling their items and keep their remaining earnings as a profit.
For Brooke — a Sheffield Place resident of four months and mom to her two-year-old daughter, Brooklyn — this meant the creation of tulle, elastic and jingle bell skirts of many colors, inspired by her daughter.
Brooke said on Friday she had handmade eight tutus so far and hopes to have at least 20 or 25 finished and for sale, around $20 per tutu, on Dec. 4.
Out of the eight tutus she has created, Brooke said her yellow and red Chiefs combination was her favorite.
“It’s awesome, I’ve never been able to do this with anyone else before,” Brooke said in an interview, Friday. “We all get together and get to do mom things.”
Although each mom is creating their own items for this Bazaar, Brooke said everyone works together and helps with each other’s projects.
In addition to the mom’s creations, Hoover mentioned teenagers within Sheffield Place’s Project H.O.P.E Children’s Service program — which provides mental health services to children of Sheffield Place mothers — are making their own items for the Gift Bazaar, some of which include snow globes, bracelet sets, hand soap and slime, among others.
“They make great holiday Christmas gifts,” Hoover said. “We love to have [the community] support and support the mothers and children we serve.”
To find additional information on Sheffield Place or its Gift Bazaar, visit: https://www.sheffieldplace.org/news-events.
Daisy Garcia Montoya
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