By Paula Pyzik Scott

Three Bluffton shops owned by the non-profit organization Et Cetera Shop, Inc. have been in the news throughout 2024. The organization celebrated its 50th anniversary with a series of events that celebrated and highlighted work supported by six area churches and over 100 volunteers at Book Reviews, Et Cetera Shop and Ten Thousand Villages.

The Et Cetera Shop board has also provided the following details on “where the money goes” in and beyond Bluffton. The board is currently comprised of Lori Nester, Beverly Armstrong, Nancy Neff, Tim Byers, Carolyn McDaniel, Linda Nelson, George Lehman and Dick McGarrity.

A percentage is designated by the board to be “tithed” for local efforts to combat the effects of poverty. This year, $6,000 was donated to the Bluffton Community Assistance Program as well as the benevolent funds of the supporting churches, which include English Lutheran, Bluffton Presbyterian, First Mennonite, Grace Mennonite, Lima Mennonite and Salem Mennonite.

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The board reports that $174,000 was given to Mennonite Central Committee (MCC,) a global, nonprofit organization with a mission “to share God’s love and compassion for all through relief, development and peace building.” MCC was founded in 1920 in Chicago as a way to provide aid to Mennonites who were impacted by the Russian Revolution and famine in Ukraine. MCC now responds to disasters and humanitarian crises around the world.

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