WomanCraft to join Heartland Alliance
WomanCraft, Heartland Alliance and Deborah’s Place are pleased to announce that on July 1, 2008, WomanCraft, Chicago’s premiere hand-crafted paper social enterprise will come under the banner of Heartland Human Care Services.
WomanCraft, an eco-friendly and fair trade social enterprise in the North Lawndale neighborhood produces handmade, recycled paper products including wedding invitations and other special event items, notecards, stationery and gifts. WomanCraft is a winner of Mayor Richard Daley’s GreenWorks award for environmentally responsible products.
WomanCraft was founded in 1998 by Deborah’s Place to provide employment opportunities for the women it serves. Deborah’s Place, an organization that is breaking the cycle of homelessness for women in Chicago, will continue to focus on providing award-winning core residential and supportive services, utilizing innovative harm reduction and recovery models. These core services provide much-needed resources for women to obtain and maintain permanent housing, sustainable income and greater self-determination.
“Deborah’s Place is pleased that WomanCraft will continue to grow with the leadership and support of Heartland Alliance. Becoming part of Heartland Alliance means that WomanCraft can easily expand into transitional workplace training and capitalize on the phenomenal nation-wide growth it has recently enjoyed,” said Audrey Thomas, Executive Director of Deborah’s Place.
“WomanCraft helps Heartland further expand its reach and impact on people living in poverty. We warmly welcome WomanCraft’s strong entrepreneurial spirit and its nationally recognized product,” said Joe Antolin, Executive Director of Heartland Human Care Services, Inc.
Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights champions the human rights and improves the lives of men, women and children who are threatened by poverty or danger. For more than 100 years, the organization has been providing solutions - both through services and policy - that move individuals from crisis to stability and on to success. Heartland Alliance’s work in housing, health care, legal protections and economic security serves more than 100,000 people annually, helping them improve their lives.
As a program of Heartland Human Care Services, WomanCraft will expand services to include Transitional Jobs participants from a variety of Heartland Alliance programs. Heartland Alliance is the host agency of the National Transitional Jobs Network and provides a wide range of workforce development services.
“WomanCraft has provided supportive, permanent employment to our artisans for nearly a decade, and we are eager to add Transitional Jobs participants to our team. We look forward to increasing our scope of service,” said Nancy Phillips, WomanCraft’s General Manager.
WomanCraft will also expand its reach in the invitation market, serving more customers who are interested in socially-responsible and eco-friendly event planning. In the last two years, WomanCraft has experienced dramatic national growth in ‘green’ wedding invitations, and now nearly 75% of its special orders come from out-of-state.
For more information about WomanCraft, please visit www.womancraft.net. For more information on Heartland Human Care Services or Heartland Alliance, please visit www.heartlandalliance.org. Visit Deborah’s Place at www.deborahsplace.org.