By THERESA HOGUE
Gazette-Times reporter
For a few brief months, local shoppers will have the opportunity to purchase a variety of handicrafts from Tibet and India, and their purchases will directly benefit an orphanage that cares for Tibetan children living in exile in India.
TLC, which stands for Tibetan Living Communities, is a nonprofit organization aimed at improving living conditions and providing education for Tibetan Buddhists who had to flee their homeland because of religious persecution. The board of the nonprofit decided to open a seasonal shop in Corvallis to raise funds for the orphanage and spread the word about their organization.
TLC has opened at 132 S.W. Fourth St. in downtown Corvallis, around the corner from Starbucks. Store hours are
11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday through Dec. 22.
Sylvia Fireman of Sweet Home and her daughters, Shauna Gray and Lisa Rennie of Eugene, are operating the store as volunteers. Sylvia’s sister, Nancy Fireman of Napa, Calif., is the founder of TLC, and is offering support and advice.
Nancy Fireman originally became involved with supporting Tibetan refugees after meeting a group of monks who were traveling through the United States. She founded TLC as a nonprofit and began helping raise funds for a variety of projects in India, finally settling on the Manushree Vidyapith Orphanage in northern India as the organization’s main project. The orphanage serves more than 100 children, including many with disabilities.
Money raised here will help pay for a new sanitary kitchen and study hall for the orphanage, which also provides religious training and education to the children, all of whom are Tibetan Buddhists.
“It’s amazing to see the smiles of their faces,” Nancy Fireman said.
The store offers a variety of items including jewelry, bags, scarves, prayer flags, victory banners, music and video tapes, and journals.
As soon as store costs are recovered, 100 percent of the sales of Tibetan items will be sent to the orphanage, and 25 percent from the Indian goods (a smaller portion of the items available) will also go to the same place.
In addition to the gift items available, customers can make direct donations to the orphanage, or can sponsor a child by selecting one from a sponsorship wall, which provides photographs and information on different children at the orphanage who need sponsorship.
