Selling handbags may not seem like a form of activism, but try telling that to a local charity group -- they're doing just that to raise money for those in need locally and abroad.
The Centre County chapter of Altrusa usually raises funds for local non-profits. But this year, members decided to sell handcrafted handbags produced in Indonesia as a way to expand outreach.
Jill Lillie, the club's president, said it's a case of women helping women and a "win-win" situation all around.
"The handbags are gorgeous -- those in themselves will get people there," said Becky Schrope, a club member and executive director of the AIDS Project of Centre County.
In selling the merchandise, Lillie gets 50 percent of the profits, which she said would be re-invested locally in Altrusa's fund to support non-profits.
Roy van Broekhuizen, co-founder and CEO of Laga Designs International, which produces the handbags, said the company sends between 30 and 40 percent of the profits to the workers in Indonesia.
"I don't think there's any non-profit that can match that," Van Broekhuizen said.
He and his wife decided to start the company after his trip to Sumatra, an island in Indonesia. The devastation after the 2004 tsunamis was among the worst he has ever seen, he said, leaving many on the island without a home or a livelihood.
Lillie said she received a bag as a Christmas gift last year and found the story behind it particularly touching. She decided to become a consultant with Laga Designs International shortly thereafter.
The bags are pieces of art, she said, featuring craftsmanship that reminded Schrope of when women used to do more of their own needlework.
"It just really kind of moved me on a lot of different levels," Lillie said.
