This year, the Women’s Center will host its annual BeadforLife sale from Nov. 19 through Dec. 17. BeadforLife is a nonprofit organization that helps the women of Uganda sell their homemade jewelry all over the world and raise themselves and their families out of extreme poverty. All of the money raised by BeadforLife either goes directly into the women’s hands or into their educational programs.

“It’s a good thing to do,” said student Georgia Crow. “It helps out in the community.”

UNA helped with BeadforLife years ago but had stopped doing it when Emily Kelley, coordinator for Women’s Studies at the Women’s Center, arrived at UNA in 2009. Kelley and the Women’s Center reinstated the BeadforLife sale at UNA in 2010 and have raised thousands of dollars for the organization. Each year the Women’s Center has exceeded the previous year’s earnings and is keeping the sale open even longer in the hopes of continuing that tradition.

“We got involved because the purpose of the Women’s Center is to encourage student leadership in community building outreach activities, be they local community or global community,” Kelley said. “This gives us a chance to encourage student leadership in the global community and this is our global outreach project for the year. We are outreaching to the women of Uganda. It’s women helping women.”

The Women’s Center is selling jewelry, jewelry bags, baskets, and Shea Nut products all handmade by women in Uganda. The store is located in the Women’s Center and is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. They accept cash and credit cards. More information about BeadforLife can be found on their website, beadforlife.org.