Tucked into a room at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Coronado, a little craft shop is now open for business. This isn’t any ordinary shop, though. The items within are all handmade by church members, and 100% of the proceeds go to support seven children in the Dominican Republic.
Nancy Mowry, one of the energetic women behind this venture, told eCoronado a bit more about the shop, the women behind it, the items for sale, and the children that the mission supports. Here is the history of the little shop and how you can make a difference with a few dollars.
eCoronado: What is the story behind the Mission Crafters Cottage (MCC)?
Nancy: The MCC was the brainchild of a woman who is turning 90 this month named Gloria Whalen. She is a long-time member of the church and the community, and she has really been the driving force behind it. She’s also a painter and an art collector.
The shop itself is a part of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church of the Voyager Mission Outreach. For years, people have been crafting together at St. Paul’s, but it only really got an official name about three years ago, around the time I joined them. At the beginning of this year, the church found a room for us, and we’ve been working ever since to get people to volunteer in the store, provide enough stock to sell, and be open at regular times.
eCoronado: What kind of things do you sell in the shop?
Nancy: The shop sells handmade and collected gift items for the home and garden. Three to five of us meet to do crafting each week, and we have people in the church who knit and paint, make thematic baskets for holidays, create handmade jewelry and cards, and so on. Someone just joined who does beautiful artwork, and she is going to start selling her artwork there. I create art for your garden with plates that you can hang or put on a garden stake.
We are volunteers, and we donate everything we make to the MCC. We create art because we’re inspired to do it. Our goal is simply to turn a profit for the sake of the children we support through the Children of the Nations program.
eCoronado: Tell us more about the Children of the Nations!
Nancy: Any money the MCC raises goes through our mission committee, and it is going to support children through the NGO called Children of the Nations (COTN). The organization is in three countries in Africa, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic (DR), which is where we have focused our mission.
Currently the church supports seven children, ages four to 20, and now those children are taken care of by what we made last year. Currently we are trying to make enough money to sponsor those seven children if they still need the support, or more than seven children if we can.
For $32/month, the sponsorship will go to children who are living in families (not orphanages) in the DR and they are living on less than a dollar a day. Before COTN began in the DR, families would use the children to cut sugarcane or catch crabs — to contribute to the family income. COTN’s first attempt to get the children to school was difficult because families didn’t want to lose that child as another way to feed the family.
As soon as COTN provided the main meal for these children, parents were much more willing to let their children go to school. COTN’s mission is to raise up children to transform nations by educating children who can give back to their society, to be doctors and nurses and scientists, or whatever they want to be. COTN also covers one meal a day, their education, their medical expenses, and their spiritual needs.
When I was in the DR two years ago, a little boy was badly burned while playing around the trash heaps. He had third-degree burns from his knees down from stepping on the still-hot fire. We got into the van with the mom, principal, and child and took them to the hospital. His medical care was covered because he’s part of Children of the Nations. Unfortunately, not all families are a part of this.
We have children who have gone through the program all the way to university and become dentists and doctors, and then they come back and want to contribute to the COTN program. COTN will employ them because they have a small medical clinic there.
It’s a wonderful program that allows us to see that we’re making a difference in children’s lives as opposed to just sending money off. We get monthly letters and Christmas photos. We are part of the mission of “raising children to transform nations.”
eCoronado: This all sounds incredible. When is the cottage open for business? How can we find it?
Nancy: We are open Tuesdays and Fridays from 11 am to 1 pm, and we’re open most Sundays (not first Sunday of the month). The church address is 700 D Ave, but the church literally sits on the corner, so we put out a yellow sign. The shop is a little room that is part of our fellowship hall. Come on by, shop a little, and make a difference in children’s lives!
