‘We feel like we’re filling a niche.’ State College nonprofit aims to expand space, offerings
When Ten Thousand Villages’ State College location opened in September 2018, it relied on community support to begin operations.
Now, the store — located at 1341 S. Atherton St. — is looking to expand its space, which will require a total of $35,000 in donations to its campaign, titled “Widening Our Village’s Circle.” So far, donors have raised approximately $24,000 through both pledges and donations, with construction set to start at the end of May and be revealed in September.
Ten Thousand Villages is a fair-trade nonprofit organization that since 1946 has sold ethically sourced items including jewelry, home decorations, kitchen utensils and wellness supplies. The organization’s locations work with artisans around the world to bring unique, handmade goods to areas across the United States with the intention of breaking the cycle of poverty in developing countries.
Since August 2018, Kieran Holland has served as the State College nonprofit’s executive director. Due to a lack of space for storage and offices, Holland said the idea of expanding the current “incredibly small” space had been toyed with for a while, but wasn’t necessarily feasible until late December 2020 when the opportunity arose.
“We had joked about (expanding) since pretty much when we opened,” Holland said.
The existing space will be combined with the adjacent storefront that formerly housed One Main Financial. With the additional space, Holland said new products will be sold at the store, including clothes and the creation of a proper fitting room for customers.
Fundraising Chair Joel Weidner led the efforts to first open the store and served as its first board chair. Raising funds now compared to when the store was originally trying to open has seemed easier because community members are now familiar with the organization, he said.
Weidner added that the store is unique because it sells ethically sourced products, which means the artisans who make them are paid fairly and therefore are able to provide for their families.
“We feel like we’re filling a niche here in State College that really isn’t offered by anybody else,” Weidner said.
The expansion will also allow for more community engagement. The expanded store will have room for opportunities such as crafting events, book reading circles for children, fair-trade fashion events, music and ethnic cooking.
“This expanded floor space would just allow us to be adaptable,” Holland said.
Regarding the local support for the project, Holland said the nonprofit’s goal is to be a pillar of the State College community.
“We know that we don’t exist in a vacuum and we don’t exist without this wonderful community,” Holland said. “So we want to always make sure that we’re giving back too and supporting the community as they support us. It’s a very equal process.”
In its first two and a half years in business, the store has purchased over $440,000 worth of items from global artisans. With the store’s expansion, the spending goal is set at more than $600,000 over the next two and half years.
“We feel like we’re kind of cramped in our existing space, so we’re really excited about spreading out,” Weidner said.
To donate to the project, make a donation during Centre Gives May 11-12, visit https://donorbox.org/ttvsc or stop by the store. For more information, visit villagessc.com.
Ten Thousand Villages is open from noon to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays.
This story was originally published May 10, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
