—Sharon Ewert
It’s been a year of transitions for our Ten Thousand Villages store in Glen Ellyn (503 Pennsylvania Ave, Glen Ellyn), and our mission matching grant from the church has been critical. As a ministry of LMC, we are committed to supporting artisans around the world in a way that respects their dignity and allows them to provide for their families. In the way we are incorporated, the church is our only member. Essentially, the church owns the store.
Eleven years ago, we moved into our current space with a landlord who believed in our mission of helping artisans around the world and gave us a very tenant-friendly lease. We transitioned to a new landlord this year. We are so grateful for the mission matching grant which helped us negotiate our lease terms at renewal.
Our Villages store has had other transitions, as well. Our excellent assistant manager stepped down as she’ll be moving farther away. We have just hired a new assistant manager, Ethel, who is learning how to take over. We also have added two new board members (one of them LMC’s own Kristin). They bring important skills in web design, graphics, social media outreach, and recruiting.
The matching grant is a critical part of our financial picture, and we are grateful for the close link to the church. We would love to welcome more people from LMC to be a part of the mission of our Ten Thousand Villages Glen Ellyn store. We’re looking for both additional volunteers to work in the store and offsite sales and additional board members who work behind the scenes to keep the store financially stable and growing.
If you are interested in knowing more about the store or in volunteering in some capacity, please talk with Sharon Ewert, the current board chair.