About Us: Community Involvement

World’s Window sponsors numerous fund-raising and awareness-raising projects both locally and globally. We are grateful to our many partner-organizations who have welcomed our involvement and gone along with our sometimes-unusual fundraising activities. More specifically, we love the support we are able to give to Rose Brooks Center, Habitat for Humanity KC, and The Children’s Place.

For 7 years, World’s Window sponsored “Share-A-Chair” where “artists” of all ages decorated chairs that were then sold in silent art auctions. Thousands of dollars were raised and donated to local chapters of Habitat for Humanity with the understanding that 10% of the money would be sent to “sister” projects overseas. For the 20th anniversary of World’s Window, the staff sponsored “Build a House,” raising enough funds to build a Habitat house in the Dominican Republic.

Four years ago, World’s Window partnered with a fair-trade vendor to start their “Circle of Friends” project. From Handmade Expressions World’s Window purchases fair-trade, hand-block printed, organic cotton bags. Their purchase of these bags supports the artisans in India. The bags are then sold for $10 with half of the proceeds going to a variety of non-profit organizations. The Children’s Place, Rose Brooks Center and Habitat for Humanity have all received major donations through the sale of these bags. One year the money raised accompanied a volunteer Habitat group led by World’s Window owner Lonnie Buerge to Nicaragua to help build homes in a village where Lonnie had volunteered as a college student.

For the past 6 years World’s Window has also sponsored gently-used clothing drives for “Rosie’s Closet” at Rose Brooks Center. Customers donate their excellent quality used clothing for women living at the Rose Brooks shelter. Emphasis is placed on clothing that will be appropriate for job interviews. Over 2,500 items of clothing have been donated. In the past 3 years, World’s Window added “Flipping Favorites: Shop Your Girlfriend’s Closet.” The financial need at Rose Brooks has been greater than the need for clothing, so a fund-raising evening is held each year where World’s Window customers shopped the racks of donated clothing at $10 per item with all the money raised going to Rose Brooks. Around $5,800 has been raised through these simple 2-hour shopping sprees.

Responding to on-going needs of many, many non-profit groups in the community, World’s Window gives an average of 10 donations per month for fund-raising auctions.

In addition to fund-raising projects, Jan Buerge served for six years on the Mattie Rhodes Center Board of Directors. Her support of their counseling and community intervention programs fit well with her own personal beliefs, her long-ago background as a social worker in community corrections, and the store’s commitment to “enhance human life, beauty and the future.” Her specific involvement in the Cultural Arts Program at Mattie Rhodes allowed her to share her knowledge of folk art from many cultures and help support their ongoing community program and art events.

Jan has also served in various capacities with the Brookside Business Association. From many years Jan has had the honor to chair the Events and Marketing Committee which plans and produces a multitude of special events including the nationally-acclaimed Brookside Art Annual.