Care-n-Share Offers Products with a Purpose

  • By Lisa Amstutz
  • January 17, 2011
  • 301
                        
While at first glance Care-n-Share looks like any other Amish Country gift shop, there’s more here than meets the eye. “We’re a special store with special products made by special people,” says Mattie Troyer, who co-owns Care-n-Share with her husband Reuben. Conveniently located along Rt. 250 near Apple Creek, the store offers a wide variety of home décor and gift items handcrafted by physically challenged Amish people. Care-n-Share’s mission is to help these people support themselves by providing an outlet for their products. Each item sold here has a story behind it. One basket maker was born with spina bifida and is confined to a wheelchair. He is able to cover all his expenses with the proceeds from his baskets. Another young husband and father of six was injured in a horse and buggy accident. Against all odds, he survived and now supports his family by making baskets in his wood shop. Many of these disabled artisans have no other way to make a living. “If they can’t support themselves, the church has to, and that doesn’t feel good,” Troyer said. “It brings purpose to their lives.” Troyer clearly loves her work and the people she serves. “My favorite thing is helping people. That’s my niche,” she said. Troyer has found the store to be a blessing not only to others, but to herself as well. Diagnosed with several medical conditions before opening the store, she now considers herself 99% better. In helping others, she says, she has received healing herself. Care-n-Share is a primary source of income for many of the 150 artisans who sell their products here. Around 75% of them live in the Wayne/Holmes county area. Most have physical challenges such as spina bifida, cerebral palsy or Parkinson’s. Widows and families with large medical expenses can also earn an income by selling their products at Care-n-Share. The Amish do not generally carry medical insurance and while the churches help with hospital bills, the money earned here helps clients to cover ongoing medical bills and living expenses. From hobby horses to homemade liniment, there are all sorts of unique items to be found at Care-n-Share, but baskets of all shapes and sizes dominate the store. You’ll find serving baskets, hampers, picnic baskets, breadbaskets, laundry baskets, basket purses lined with colorful calicos, and many other designs. For the children in your life, Care-n-Share offers wooden barns, fences and animals, jump ropes, faceless Amish dolls and grinning sock monkeys--even a basket cradle. Animal lovers can indulge their favorite pets here with handmade basket beds, halters, lead ropes of braided leather or fabric, and birdhouses and feeders. In the back of the store is a quilt frame where women from local Amish church groups gather to quilt. Finished quilts are available in the store, but they can also be made to order for customers who prefer to choose their own colors and pattern. The sale of these quilts helps to cover the overhead expenses for the store, which are minimal because its Amish owners do not draw a salary. “We did well with our business; this is our way of giving back to the community,” Troyer said. The family business, AirWorks, once occupied the Care-n-Share building. After much scrubbing and a few coats of paint, the building was transformed into a cozy shop. “People wonder how we can have electric lights,” said Troyer with a chuckle. “I tell them it’s Amish electricity. We have a solar-powered battery that powers the lights.” As the store celebrates its fifth anniversary this year, Troyer plans to produce a Care ’N’ Share cookbook featuring recipes from many of the artisans it serves, along with some of their stories. “We’re hoping to have the cookbooks available by summer,” said Troyer, who hopes to expand the store with the proceeds. Tour groups are welcome at Care-n-Share and may call ahead to schedule quilting and basket-weaving demonstrations. Dr. Elton Lehman, who won the “Country Doctor of the Year” award in 1998 for his lifetime of work among the Amish, often stops by to speak to tour groups and sign copies of his memoir, “House Calls and Hitching Posts.” Biannual quilt raffles offer visitors the opportunity to win a lovely, handmade Amish quilt for just $1.00 per ticket. Care-n-Share products are sold at retail stores across the country. They are happy to ship items and accept mail orders, wholesale and custom orders. Custom gift baskets are available; filled with fruit or local meat and cheese, these make perfect corporate gifts. Gift certificates are also available. Call the store at 330-698-0376 to schedule a tour group or order a catalog. A partial catalog is now online at http://imags.gpubs.com/oac/catalog/clients/carenshare/pageflip.html.


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