The Clever Girls are at it again, and this time, the cleveristas are putting efforts towards supporting a cause close to my heart: Heart of Haiti, a non-profit dedicate to helping rebuild Haiti.
The group is selling handmade arts and crafts from Haitian artisans through Macy’s Heart of Haiti: Shop for a Better World program.
The program is the brainchild of Fairwinds Trading Company CEO Willa Shalit. Willa’s company is dedicate to bringing the work of artists in developing nations to a wider audience, providing a much-needed source of income and support to people across the globe.
I’ve bought jewelry and small bags in local shops from Fairwinds, and love that they have turned their attention to the grave situation in Haiti.
The earthquake that devastated the country on January 12, 2010 made it nearly impossible for many to make a living or rebuild what they had lost. These artisans found a way to take simple, and often recycled materials, and turn them into a celebration of Haiti’s culture, and make a living for themselves.
We have been to several islands in the Carribean over the years, and purchased a number of colorful, decorative items for our home. The selection in the Heart of Haiti “shop” reminded me of the markets we visited in the Bahamas, St. Maarten, and Aruba.
Even if you’ve never been to Haiti or other islands in the Carribean, you can add a little local flair to your kitchen with colorful bowls, wall art and jewelry from this collection. By doing so, in a small way, you help the people of Haiti to rebuild after the devastating earthquake of 2010.
Disclosure: I was selected for this very special “CleverHaiti” opportunity by Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity. All opinions are my own.
Glennia Campbell has been around the world and loved something about every part of it. She is interested in reading, photography, politics, reality television, food and travel and lives in the Bay Area of the U.S.
She blogs about family travel at The Silent I and is also the co-founder of MOMocrats Beth Blecherman and Stefania Pomponi Butler, which launched out of a desire to include the voices of progressive women, particularly mothers, in the political dialogue of the 2008 campaign.
She found her way to Democratic politics under the tutelage of the late Rev. Dr. William Sloane Coffin, Jr., Cora Weiss, and other anti-war activists and leaders in the anti-nuclear campaigns of the 1980’s. She has been a speaker at BlogHer, Netroots Nation, and Mom 2.0, and published print articles in KoreAm Journal.
Professionally, Glennia is a lawyer and lifelong volunteer. She has been a poverty lawyer in the South Bronx, a crisis counselor for a domestic violence shelter in Texas, President of a 3,000 member non-profit parent’s organization in California, and has worked in support of high-tech and medical research throughout her professional career.
