From Cleaning Clothes to Cleaning Souls

Richard Bartley grew up in Slavic Village, a once prosperous, thriving, ethnic community on the southeast side of Cleveland during the last part of the nineteenth century. Once upon a time immigrants from Poland, Czechoslovakia & other European countries imigrated to the area to work in the prospering steel & textile mills.


Families grew, businesses developed, churches were built and living became ideal. But by mid-twentieth century mills were closing & suburbanization was the rule. Unemployment in the village rose as did the rate of poverty, single parenting and crime. By 2007 Slavic Village could claim the highest rate of home foreclosure in the country and gang activity, drug trafficking and prostitution took over.

Rich Has Change of Plans for Retirement

Rich retired from the Navy and began teaching and coaching at his old high school. Rich had a heart for his students and the seemingly insurmountable obstacles in their way. When he retired from teaching, his wife, Reida, thought their lives would be carefree and ‘on the road’ but Rich had other plans.


He knew his retirement would include the kids in Slavic Village but he wanted to be sure he had the tools to make a difference so he attended seminary to become a minister. Rich Bartley became Pastor B.

Village Grace Mission is Born

As Rich was finishing seminary he & Reida helped with a program at their church filling shoeboxes with toys and small gifts for needy children at Christmas time. The first year 35 “Treasure Boxes” were delivered. What a difference these small boxes made in the lives of those children, the only gifts most received for Christmas. As the program grew the Bartley’s were asked to run it and they agreed.


That was the start of Village Grace Mission Center. In 2008, 1,685 treasure boxes were delivered to underprivileged children.Village Grace Mission Center officially needed a location. Finally, an old dilapidated former dry cleaner on Lansing felt ‘right’ to the Bartley’s. It was located next to a bar, the windows had bullet holes and the homeless lived in the basement.


The Mission was not welcomed in the area. Run-ins with gang members, condoms left on the doorknobs and broken windows were the norm but Rich and Reida persevered. When their neighbors realized they were not going to be driven away, relationships slowly began to develop.


Within two years the mission was regularly holding barbecues for the locals and had gained the trust of gang members and the bar owner and patrons. The mission hosted programs for the area’s children & offered counseling for families. They were touching lives in a supernatural way and Cleveland City Councilman Tony Brancatelli asked them to start a food pantry and so their ministry expanded.

Old Dry Cleaners is Now Beacon of Light

Village Grace Mission Center has become a beacon of life and light in an area of darkness. Reida sits in her office and wonders if this is all worth it as she shivers from the cold and aches from working long hours. She thinks of long forgotten and lost retirement plans and sighs as she looks around the old dry cleaning business in the 110-year-old church building where the mission now resides.


The furniture is beat-up and donated as is the ancient computer. In her reverie she sees two small faces through the dirty window. The tiny girls wear third-hand clothes, hold a small, scraggly bouquet of flowering weeds and enthusiastically scream “These are for you!” Reida is abruptly reminded of why she is here and that yes, it is worth it and yes, it all makes a difference.
As a matter of fact, there is nowhere on earth she would rather be…

To donate to Village Grace Mission click here for their website

What is CraftNetwork?

One such company, CraftNetwork, was founded in 2007 by Christopher Benza in order to connect artists in developing nations with wholesalers and retailers in wealthy nations.  By employing local artisans in underdeveloped communities under a unified brand, CraftNetwork assures they produce quality products and meet market demands.  The 26-employee company has exported products from over 1,355 artisans in 124 villages in three countries to date totaling over $419,000 in 2008 alone.

How Does CraftNetwork Help Artisans

CraftNetwork’s artists maintain freedom and integrity by setting prices and crafting products they feel best represent their talent.  Artists advertise items on the network and other company mediums at no charge and are also not financially obligated when merchandise is damaged or returned by a customer.  CraftNetwork assumes responsibility for all products once the items are received. The care and welfare of the artists is the main focus of CraftNetwork and 100% customer satisfaction is guaranteed.

Excellent Business Operations

CraftNetwork provides export facilitation and product development services for its artisans to increase sales, strengthen ethical trading practices, build employment opportunities and raise and improve the standard of living of the artisans.  CraftNetwork as a company is known for having a strong social mission and is committed to providing worthwhile and lasting employment for disadvantaged artists.  Through CraftNetwork’s online e-commerce platform the artists individual backgrounds and cultures are represented through handcrafted products that are imported from around the world. Through improved effeciency and the volume of products they sell CraftNetwork is able to provide extraordinary quality products at competitive prices.

Support and Financing for CraftNetwork

CraftNetwork is supported by the International Finance Corporation’s Grassroots Business Initiative (GBI).  The IFC’s Grassroots Business Initiative supports businesses that create “sustainable economic opportunities for the poor and marginalized”.  Grassroots Business Organizations are socially-driven ventures that empower and engage those at the “base of the pyramid” as entrepreneurs, suppliers, consumers and employees.  GBI aims to have a catalytic impact in this emerging sector of entrepreneurship by building partnerships with like-minded groups and leveraging its position within the World Bank Group to aid business ventures just like Craft Network. Sir Austin wants to encourage all his readers to help CraftNetwork help it’s Artisans by purchasing something on their website!

Buy Something From CraftNetwork!

Click here for E-commerce site

Krochet Kids originally started as a way for friends Travis Hartanov and Kohl Crecelius to help raise money for their high school prom. The friends conceived a plan to learn crocheting and start making and selling beanies as a way to raise the money they needed to fund their prom. Little did they know that their small idea would grow to become an international non-profit organization providing great economic opportunities to impoverished families in Africa.

From Vision to Reality

During the summer before the friends freshman year at Whitworth College the three of them went on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. Seeing the extreme poverty that the Dominicans were living in on a daily basis the three decided to do something to help make a change. Out of their desire for change Krochet Kids was born.

What is Krochet Kids?

Krochet Kids is a non-profit organization that teaches women of impoverished countries how to crochet beanies which the group then turns around and sells to fund the organization. The entire idea is breathtakingly selfless. Not only do the women get a salary for making the beanies but the organization then takes the profits made from selling the beanies and reinvests it back into the very villages in which the beanies are produced.

The Groups Focus Turns to Africa

Although their journey started in the Dominican, Krochet Kids main philanthropic focus is in Uganda Africa.The three friends are committed to not only producing a quality product but also helping to pull African families out of poverty in the process.

Hartanov states that “we kept hearing a lot of our family and friends saying things like ‘this is a great idea’ and ‘you really should pursue this’”. After fund raising for an entire year the trio picked a group of ten friends to travel to Uganda to teach a number of African women to crochet beanies. At first they were worried about how quickly the women would pick up crocheting however after only one day the women were crocheting like pros.

Tangible Results That Make a Real Difference

These women now are employed full time from crochet kids and each women crochets a maximum of three hats per day, a comfortable pace according to Hartanov. In total Krochet Kids now produces 150 beanies per month.

Being a Christian organization Hartanov says they “want to not only provide them with physical work but spiritual development as well”. Hartanov goes on to state that their passion is combining business and mission work together. A noble pairing according to Sir Austin!

The group has plans of ultimately putting the entire operation in the hands of the African women and having them run it all. This will enable Krochet Kids to move on to the next tribe and repeat the same process. When Sir Austin first read about the group he could not wait to tell all his readers about the exciting work that Krochet Kids is doing. Also Sir Austin wants to encourage all beanie wearers and friends of beanie wearers out there to make sure and stock up on the beanies that are krocheting hope for African families!

Stock up on Your Beanies Today!

To visit the Krochet Kids online store click here