Celebrating Women at Crossroads
- Crossroads Fair Trade
- Mar 8, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: May 10
March 8th is International Women's Day and March is International Women's Month so as a woman-led non-profit business, we take an extra special moment to reflect and celebrate why we're here.
Our Founders!
Founded by women and nurtured by women for 38 years, we are forever grateful to our founders Charline Watts, Marilyn Townley and Carol Schrantz who started Crossroads in 1988.
Their passion for social justice, fairness, and living life fair is what makes Crossroads what it continues to be today. Read more about their story.
Watch: Why Fair Trade Matters with Charline Watts
Our Volunteers!
Crossroads is truly grateful for the wonderful, caring, and dedicated force of volunteers who have staffed our store for over 30 years making fair trade a reality in our community! We celebrate the compassion, time, talent, and global experiences they share with us to market products that help empower women and minorities, fight child labor and slavery, respect the hard work of artisans and farmers, and support conservation of the environment
Our Community!
There are over 50 women-led businesses in Bloomington alone and we're proud to be one of them.
Our Vendors!
Crossroads has empowered thousands of disadvantaged women through fair trade which supports gender equality and provides opportunities to earn a living. We are grateful for the chance to partner with vendors worldwide to provide quality products for our community.
Here are a few of our vendors that are women-led and supported:
Fair Anita - Ethical jewelry company investing in women's financial security.
Soup of Success - Women's job and life skills empowerment program.
Thistle Farms - Works to create healing and hope for women survivors of trafficking, prostitution, and addiction.
Women's Bean Project - Nonprofit social enterprise that offers women the power to transform their lives through employment.
Upavim - Supports the women of La Esperanza, Guatemala in their work for better opportunities for themselves and their community.
"When women thrive, all of society benefits and succeeding generations are given a better start in life." -- Kofi Annan
