Non-profit vendors help those in need through parish boutique

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Saint Nicholas will visit the Many Blessings Boutique at St. Ambrose Parish on Dec. 7 from noon to 2 p.m. 

SALT LAKE CITY — Shop for Christmas and help worthy causes at the same time at Saint Ambrose Parish sixth annual "Many Blessings" Boutique Dec. 7. 

More than 40 vendors will offer unique, handmade items for Christmas, said Carolyn Hulbert, boutique coordinator. What is different about the St. Ambrose boutique is that they feature non-profit vendors who give up to 100 percent of their proceeds to the causes for which they collect.

"There is a synergism among our vendors and the parish that allows the community to give a gift that gives twice," said Hulbert.

One vendor who gives some of her proceeds to the American Cancer Society for research is Toni Vandenburghe; her booth is Beading for Boobies. Vandenburghe is an eight-year cancer survivor who began beading in 2006 while going through chemotherapy.

"Chemotherapy is very hard," she said. "I realized then that I could give back and also let women know there is life after chemo and that we need to donate to further research for breast cancer."

Another beneficiary from the boutique is the Fourth Street Clinic, a non-profit organization that receives 100 percent of the proceeds from Maria Noble’s hand-made teddy bears with a knitted hat and a matching knitted child’s hat.

"Maria is an amazing woman," said Jenn Hyvonen, Fourth Street Clinic external affairs director. "She is 87 and a long-time community partner. Last year we sold out and she took orders and filled all of them."

This year the clinic will be able to leverage additional dollars through a matching grant, said Kim Belliston, Fourth Street Clinic development coordinator. "Last year Maria made $2,000, which was matched and became $4,000. This year from Dec. 1-10, we are offering a new cash match campaign ‘Give One Raise Two,’ through our grant sponsors, so the $4,000 can become $8,000."

Fourth Street Clinic provides services for about 100 patients each day, Monday through Friday; 3,700 patients each year and 44,000 prescriptions each year, Hyvonen said. The clinic will become a full-service health care facility for the homeless population in January when the remodeling is complete and dental care is added.

"Being homeless is the only eligibility criteria one must meet, and 80 percent of the homeless are uninsured," Hyvonen said. "We offer primary care and also mental health and substance abuse services, an on-site pharmacy, and specialty clinics once a month: neurology, cardiology, ophthalmology, optometry, dermatology, rheumatology, and nephrology. The clinic is run by a combination of staff, volunteers and students."

A third non-profit vendor is Buffalo Blessings. Anna and Rod Bennett sell jewelry and other hand-made items; 100 percent of their proceeds go to purchase supplies for Native Americans in the Four Corners area.

"Buffaloes represent prosperity and the Native Americans used to depend on hunting buffaloes, which meant they would have food, clothing, and shelter," said Anna Bennett. "The idea of Buffalo Blessings is to bring those blessings back to the people."

Every October, Bennett and her husband visit four Hopi Reservation villages and two areas on the Navajo Reservation to deliver food and other supplies to 700 people. They deliver per person: 15-pounds of potatoes, five pounds of onions, four pounds of beans, two pounds of rice, one- or two-pound cans of coffee, oatmeal and baking powder for fry bread. They would like to add flour and fresh foods.

"We deliver gently used clothing and have also bought shovels, saws, storage bins and 50-gallon barrels for water storage because the shelters they live in don’t have running water," said Bennett. "We also make packs of school supplies, toiletries and pet food, and are always in need of more. They just need and appreciate the basic necessities."