throughout this past year, i’ve had a growing desire to be much more conscious of who and what i am supporting when i spend my money… because although a lot of the time i do pretty much feel like amazon prime is maybe the most convenient thing since sliced bread [i mean, right?!], i have really wanted to be mindful in my shopping and do a bit more that supports local shops and shops that give back. it juuust so happens that one of my dearest of friends, katie, works for a really neat organization that is both of these things! it’s called mission lazarus, and aside from having really gorgeous products in their store, they have a really cool purpose, too.
a little bit of what they do at mission lazarus is provide education and employment for young adults through their vocational school in honduras. seeing the need for both schooling and jobs there, they started the mission lazarus vocational school to teach the artisan skills of working in leather, giving hondurans the opportunity for education and a new way to support themselves. as a result, mission lazarus is able to sell some really amazing handmade goods, and the money goes back to supporting their mission! and their leather… oh my gosh. it’s gorgeous, and i’m in love. anyway, i have always been a fan of the “teach a man to fish” principle, so i think that mission lazarus is pretty darn cool.
just recently, my mom, maddalena and i decided to take a little visit to their warehouse full of goodies and do a little holiday shopping!! we kind of had a blast taking over their space with katie and trying our best not to disrupt the meeting being held in the office… which apparently isn’t so easy when you have a toddler that loves purses… and a store full of purses! haha!
also, one of the bonus parts of actually going to their location is that they have a few things there that aren’t sold online. like tables! and chairs! and the boots, too, i think. there was so much to see! it’s pretty safe to say that a whole lot of stuff came home with us that evening. and i maaaaay have dropped some hints for my christmas list while we were there. obviously, maddalena picked out some things, herself, although, i’m not so sure that santa’s elves are taking orders of nice leather bags for 1 year olds! it may be a few more years, baby girl!
be sure to check out the mission lazarus website and online store for some beautiful handmade christmas shopping! you can even purchase cards that donate things like sewing machines or a sheep or school supplies to hondurans in need. what a sweet idea for this season. gosh, it really puts things in perspective when you see how little it takes on our end to help a person in need, doesn’t it?
thanks for having us over, mission lazarus!! we love your work and we super love our katie 🙂
ok, that store looks amazing, seriously! i'd shop there!
Oh my gosh this is amazing! My sister would love this. She did a Habitat for Humanity thing in Honduras. Life changing she said. Goid things – all of this.
This is so amazing, that store looks awesome.
it is definitely awesome!!
This is awesome! I wish I could go to the actual store. I love finding ways to help! I just bought a purse. I get to help and get an awesome product! Thank you for the tip
oh you will love your new purse!!! that makes me so happy!!!