In a day and age where consumers enjoy the convenience of shopping through large online retailers, people often forget all about the local gems within their own communities.
Crossroads Handcrafts, a nonprofit in Downtown Bloomington, offers fair trade crafts, coffee and food, empowering artisans and farmers to sustain their families through sales of their products.
Crossroads was founded by three women in 1988 with a common goal to end poverty in the world and at home. In June of 1995, Crossroads Handcrafts moved to their current location in downtown Bloomington, located at 418 N. Main St.
35 years later, Crossroads remains committed to its mission of eradicating poverty and spreading awareness of social injustice.
Upon walking into the store, customers will be greeted by passionate volunteers knowledgeable on all the many different products.
Volunteer at Crossroads, Kathy Stoyak, talked about how all the products are unique and have a purpose.
“We provide a market for these goods so the people we buy them from can live better lives,” Stoyak said. “Every product has a story behind it.”
One example of this, Crossroads sells paper products made with elephant feces, which is contributing to solving an ongoing crisis in Sri Lanka between man and elephant.
Although that may sound weird, this paper is saving the lives of elephants and might solve an ongoing crisis in Sri Lanka, in which elephants are being killed for the sole reason of interfering with agriculture.
Many people believe the only way humans and elephants can successfully share an ecosystem is by finding ways to use elephants as an economic resource.
Mr. Ellie Pooh is a non-profit company that uses elephant dung to make paper products. They work with artisans and farmers in the Kegalle district of Sri Lanka to create these products that eventually end up being sold at Crossroads on the other side of the world.
Although Crossroads sells products from around the world, they also carry products made in nearby Chicago by a company named Brightendevors.
Brightendevors is a nonprofit organization that makes candles while providing young and single mothers paid job experience and support in many other areas. All of Brightendevors’ proceeds go to supporting mothers across Chicago.
One thing that is special about Crossroads, is the hard working and passionate volunteers who put everything together. Stoyak discussed how and why she ended up volunteering at Crossroads.
“I found out (about crossroads) by coming into the store, close to retiring,” Stoyak said.
Volunteer Jill Miller added a similar experience.
“Just shopping here is how we found out about it,” Miller said.
Stoyak and Miller were both proudly wearing clothes and accessories that were sold in-store.
The customer experience and unique products that Crossroads offer are hard to find anywhere else.
Crossroads symbolizes the transformative power of conscious consumption via their unwavering dedication to assisting farmers, artisans and underprivileged communities around the world.
Let’s not overlook the priceless ways that hidden jewels like Crossroads Handcrafts have improved lives all around the world and enhanced our communities as we navigate an ever more connected world.
