By Shayna Mace
A Unique Boutique
Recently I stopped by Yada Fair Trade & Resale, a Middleton boutique dedicated to assisting human trafficking survivors. The secondhand clothing was nicely curated, and I even bought a sherpa for $10. There’s also a great selection of fair trade items, including some bath and body picks made by a Milwaukee-based fair trade collective. (I loved the lemon verbena candle and lavender scrub and body lotion.)
Proceeds from the shop are used for the store’s operating costs and to help local trafficking survivors, among other endeavors. Once a month, owner Beth Williams invites trafficking survivors from Zeteo Community and women working with The Elizabeth House into the boutique to shop, giving each woman a voucher to purchase clothing and household items. People are welcome to donate clothing and household items, and Yada is looking for volunteers to staff the boutique. 2620 Parmenter St., Middleton, yadaftr.com
Tropical Sip
Even though I have seen Waunakee-based Untitled Art’s beers at local grocery stores, I had never tried any. I met a friend at Longtable Beer Café recently and noticed they had Untitled Art’s Florida Seltzer Prickly Pear Guava hard seltzer in their cooler, and I was intrigued. I love tropical-flavored sparkling waters and candies, and this refreshing seltzer didn’t disappoint. It was crisp, fruity, not too sweet and oh-so-tropical.
Untitled Art also produces a fantastic array of non-alcoholic products (CBD sparkling waters and non-alcoholic beers — like S’mores Dark Brew!) hard seltzers, beer and vodka smoothies. drinkuntitled.com
Make an Impact
Congrats to Sandy Morales, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County (BBBS), for celebrating her 10th anniversary last November as leader of the nonprofit. (Morales was also a 2015 BRAVA Woman to Watch.) I visited BBBS’ offices to chat with Morales about her work and learn more about BBBS, a youth mentoring organization.
On Jan. 31, the nonprofit hosted “It Takes Little to be Big,” at Lake Louie Brewing to kick off their six-week volunteer recruitment campaign. Morales says they’re looking to recruit 100 new “bigs” to cut their wait list time significantly. Get involved here: bbbsmadison.org/volunteer/enroll-now
An Easy Way to Give This Month
From Feb. 15-22, The Village Diaper Bank is hosting their annual Diaper Drive. Their goal is to fill 90 pallets of diapers for families in need.
I had the honor of interviewing CEO Megan Sollenberger for our 2023 Women to Watch feature, and she noted this about diaper need: “I didn’t know that government assistance programs don’t cover diapering supplies. But once I found out there wasn’t any assistance for these items and understood the root of the issue … it seemed like there had to be something I could do to help.”
It really is as simple as dropping off a box of diapers at various locations around the city (see their website for locations) or scanning the QR code (also found at the link if you scroll down) to pitch in. villagediaperbank.org
A New Restaurant
Thanks to Cooper’s Hawk for inviting BRAVA to their media preview event on Jan. 18 to celebrate the restaurant’s opening on Jan. 22. We got to sample an array of their wines paired up with various menu items, such as the gnocchi carbonara, red wine braised short ribs and their house-made chocolate cake. I highly recommend a visit to try their tasty food or sample their wines in their tasting room. chwinery.com/locations/wisconsin/middleton-wi
