New fair trade store in Wisconsin

from the Racine Journal Times

An organization called the Racine Dominicans are opening a fair trade store this fall. - Kale

By Michael Burke

RACINE — The Racine Dominicans this fall will open the HOPES Center, a Downtown operation that will be part ministry, part fair-trade store and part coffee shop.
The sisters called it "a place for healing and opportunity."

The components include A Cup of Hope, a coffee shop at 507 Sixth St., and Just Trade at 505 Sixth St., a store that will sell fair-trade products. The HOPES center will be located at 504 Seventh St.

"The focus of the center is really around poverty," Sister Ann Pratt, the center’s director, said Friday. "Economic poverty, ecological poverty — those things go hand in hand.

"And spiritual poverty, that sense of longing that people have for something more in their lives, and they can’t always name what it is."

She said that focus on poverty led to a location "in the heart of the Census tracts for poverty. ... It’s a real visible sign of our commitment to the city."

The acronym HOPES comes from "healing opportunity, peace and justice, ecology and spirituality," she said. Pratt said the center was modeled on a similar store in Bloomington, Ill., that has been around for decades.

Fair-trade products put more money in the hands of people in developing nations and ensures that those products are made sustainably, Pratt said. Selling the products educates buyers about ways to combat poverty.

"Sometimes these problems seem so enormous," she said. "Fair trade is a very concrete way to be able to help people."

Just Trade will start with merchandise from about 75 different fair-trade vendors, including coffee, jewelry, clothing, baskets and bags, toys, candy, greeting cards and statuary. Some items will be made from recycled materials, such as bags made from juice boxes.

Just Trade will likely be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., she said.

A Cup of Hope, which is connected with Just Trade by sliding doors, "aims to provide an atmosphere that will support the vibrant hub for the diverse and inclusive community the HOPES Center wants to encourage, especially for young adults," Pratt said.

It will likely be open from about 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

And the center itself will provide referrals or services on-site, such as mental health counseling, substance abuse help, adult mentoring and healing arts, said Pratt, who has a master’s degree in social work. The sisters are collaborating with other organizations such as the Health Care Network and Racine Vocational Ministries.

The center will depend on volunteers for its operation and will build that volunteer corps over time, Pratt said.

She said the nuns hope to open the coffee shop and at least part of Just Trade by about Oct. 1.

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