A red awning with "Ten Thousand Villages" written on it shades a storefront window displaying various crafts, with a sidewalk in the foreground and a brick building in the background.

First, we want to say thank you. (READ MORE BELOW) In June we shared a very honest post with our community about the financial challenges we were facing and asked that (if able) you come visit, shop, and help support the store. We were blown away by the response. So many of you came in, made a purchase, shared our post, told friends about us, or simply stopped by to offer a few kind words. We were incredibly grateful to see such an incredible outpouring of love from our community, and humbled to see how many people cared enough to show up for us. That support made a real difference (especially to our staff and volunteers) but it also helped us understand that the challenge we&#39;re facing is bigger than increased shopping alone can solve. Like so many people and our small business neighbors, we&#39;re feeling the effects of this difficult economy. As most of you know, our store depends heavily on tourism and in-person shopping from organic foot traffic, and we know that many people are traveling less and making more careful choices about how and where they spend their money. We understand that because we&#39;re living through it too. So we&#39;re not asking anyone to spend more than they can afford, and we certainly don&#39;t want anyone to feel that they should give when they have other needs that take priority. Instead we&#39;re reaching out to those who may be in a position to make a direct contribution because they believe in what our store represents and want to help us through this difficult period. At its heart, our store is about more than retail. Our work is centered around creating opportunities for artisans to earn a fair income from their work, helping our customers make more thoughtful purchasing choices, and maintaining a place in Asheville where fair trade and ethically sourced items have a home. We&#39;re so proud of the relationships we&#39;ve built over the last 30+ years with our customers, our artisan partners, and our community, and we believe that work is worth continuing. Our immediate goal is to raise $10,000&nbsp;in the coming months to help us rebuild a financial foundation and come out of the holiday season stronger and prepared for the inevitable slower months. Our $10,000 goal will help us cover the essential costs of keeping our doors open, including rent, utilities, and repairing our very old HVAC system that is on its last legs, while also allowing us to continue our mission based in&nbsp;purchasing items to sell from our artisan partners. Those purchases provide meaningful, dependable income for artisans and their families. This support can make the difference as to whether these communities have consistent access to food, clean water, shelter, and vital medical care. If you&#39;re able to make a one-time gift of $25, $50, $100, or any amount that feels right for you, we would be incredibly grateful. We&#39;re also creating an opportunity to become a monthly Fair Trade Keeper for those who would like to give ongoing support with a recurring donation. And if a donation isn&#39;t possible right now, please don&#39;t feel badly about that. Shopping with us when you need something, sharing our story, or simply continuing to tell people about what we do all helps. The response we received this summer reminded us that this store means something to many people. We&#39;re hoping that together we can carry that support a little further and give ourselves the opportunity to continue this work for many years to come. Thank you for being part of our community and for helping us keep fair trade alive in Asheville. With so much love,Your friends at Ten Thousand Villages of Asheville

First, we want to say thank you. (READ MORE BELOW) In June we shared a very honest post with our community about the financial challenges we were facing and asked that (if able) you come visit, shop, and help support the store. We were blown away by the response. So many of you came in, made a purchase, shared our post, told friends about us, or simply stopped by to offer a few kind words. We were incredibly grateful to see such an incredible outpouring of love from our community, and humbled to see how many people cared enough to show up for us. That support made a real difference (especially to our staff and volunteers) but it also helped us understand that the challenge we're facing is bigger than increased shopping alone can solve. Like so many people and our small business neighbors, we're feeling the effects of this difficult economy. As most of you know, our store depends heavily on tourism and in-person shopping from organic foot traffic, and we know that many people are traveling less and making more careful choices about how and where they spend their money. We understand that because we're living through it too. So we're not asking anyone to spend more than they can afford, and we certainly don't want anyone to feel that they should give when they have other needs that take priority. Instead we're reaching out to those who may be in a position to make a direct contribution because they believe in what our store represents and want to help us through this difficult period. At its heart, our store is about more than retail. Our work is centered around creating opportunities for artisans to earn a fair income from their work, helping our customers make more thoughtful purchasing choices, and maintaining a place in Asheville where fair trade and ethically sourced items have a home. We're so proud of the relationships we've built over the last 30+ years with our customers, our artisan partners, and our community, and we believe that work is worth continuing. Our immediate goal is to raise $10,000 in the coming months to help us rebuild a financial foundation and come out of the holiday season stronger and prepared for the inevitable slower months. Our $10,000 goal will help us cover the essential costs of keeping our doors open, including rent, utilities, and repairing our very old HVAC system that is on its last legs, while also allowing us to continue our mission based in purchasing items to sell from our artisan partners. Those purchases provide meaningful, dependable income for artisans and their families. This support can make the difference as to whether these communities have consistent access to food, clean water, shelter, and vital medical care. If you're able to make a one-time gift of $25, $50, $100, or any amount that feels right for you, we would be incredibly grateful. We're also creating an opportunity to become a monthly Fair Trade Keeper for those who would like to give ongoing support with a recurring donation. And if a donation isn't possible right now, please don't feel badly about that. Shopping with us when you need something, sharing our story, or simply continuing to tell people about what we do all helps. The response we received this summer reminded us that this store means something to many people. We're hoping that together we can carry that support a little further and give ourselves the opportunity to continue this work for many years to come. Thank you for being part of our community and for helping us keep fair trade alive in Asheville. With so much love,Your friends at Ten Thousand Villages of Asheville

World Market Place Inc

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