Make a Real Difference in Someone's Life

Make a Real Difference In Someone's Life

Have you ever watched a program or advertisement about someone needing help and wish you could help? Well now you can.

Handmade Just 4 You supports a variety of companies whose main goal is to help people make a better life for themselves and their families. The best thing you can do to help these people is to buy their products. Here is some information about these companies. Click on the company name to learn more about it.

All these companies and their products are environmentally friendly.

Aurora Glass-
Aurora Glass is part of St. Vincent de Paul Society's strategic recycling initiative for a healthier community. We manufacture our popular line of products for wholesale and retail sale, as well as creating custom works large and small. All profits from Aurora are returned to the community in the form of assistance for homeless and low-income people through emergency services, housing, jobs, training, and other charitable endeavors.

Cocoon House-
Cocoon House, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota features unique accessories for women. We design and import a variety of silk scarves, shawls and other accessories directly from small, privatized factories in China.We work only with factories that provide their workers good working conditions and fair wages, and give preference to ones in which workers hold shares and have input on decisions. Cocoon House is a female, minority-owned business.

One World Paper-
All the paper products are handmade. All paper products are acid-free. Some are made by women in co-operatives in Nepal. Others are made by men and women in India who are paid a living wage to produce the items. The company that employs those workers assists in sending the worker's children to school and helps with housing. It is a very socially responsible company. When you purchase any of these Handmade Paper products you are helping to support people who would otherwise not be able to earn enough money to support their families. You can feel good about your purchases from this company.

Global Crafts-
Working with producers around the world, including those they worked with in the beginning, the company provides crafts from Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Chile, Haiti, Vietnam, Thailand , Bolivia, Mexico and the Philippines, and adds new producers often. The mission of the corporation has remained the same: To offer income generating opportunities to craftspeople in developing countries by following fair trade practices including paying in advance at least the market price for items, ensuring that crafts people receive payment and work in fair working conditions. By working directly with the artisans, craftspeople and producer groups, Global Crafts hopes to improve the lives of some of the people with whom we share this planet.

Hemp Sisters-
Since 1996, Hemp Sisters has partnered with a working women's co-op in Kathmandu, Nepal who makes a line of accessories (hats, handbags, backpacks, wallets and more). These items begin with the item number NFP or TM. All items are hand-made, and the hemp, which grows wild in the remote western region of Nepal, is harvested by hand and processed in water (no chlorine, chemicals or softening agents).

Papa Pat's Farmhouse Recipes-
Papa Pat's Farmhouse Recipes is owned and operated by Hodan Center, Inc., a community rehabilitation program serving adults with disabilities living in southwest Wisconsin. Papa Pat's provides jobs for people with disabilities. Hodan Center, Inc. provides job opportunities to over 125 people with disabilities. The introduction of this new line of products has greatly expanded the job options for our client-employees. All the clients of the center work in some kind of "industry" at Hodan Center. Everyone in the Food Service industry plays an active role in producing the best food items available. Some of the jobs they do are: work in the field planting and tending the plants, harvesting the produce; putting lids on jars, putting labels on jars, wiping the jars; cutting produce into specified sizes, working with the food items cooking, filling jars with finished products, and many other jobs. Everyone does something, and under close supervision. Everyone has a vested interest in Papa Pat's Farmhouse Recipes.

Venus Imports, Inc.-
Our company philosophy is to provide unique, attractive, high quality clothing and accessories at reasonable prices to our customers while providing a higher living standard for our manufacturers. Except for some of our bone, bead and horn jewelry (which comes from India), all of the clothing, accessories and jewelry featured on this website are produced in Kathmandu by a diverse group of workers representing five religions and a range of cultures that includes Nepali, Indian, Tibetan, American and Israeli. In the beginning no one knew what to expect; but anxiety quickly gave way to mounting excitement as the founder proposed the unimaginable: full-time employment; profit sharing, overtime pay, quality-based bonuses; living wages with guaranteed raises; and employee feedback. For the first time in their lives, the people who make our products were told that they matter and that their opinions are valued. Simply put: treat workers with respect and give them the proper guidance and motivation and they will make a quality product to be proud of.