The Olive Branch, a fair-trade store in Pine, marking 50 years with special celebration

The roots of The Olive Branch reach back 50 years, when the fair-trade store, now located in Pine, began with just $250 in seed money and a motivation to help others.

To celebrate, the store is hosting a 50th anniversary event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 6 at the store at 11160 Perry Highway, where patrons can enjoy international food, activities for all ages, and 10% off gift shop items.

The Olive Branch began in 1975 when a church member of Salem United Methodist Church in Pine visited another fair-trade store in Ohio and brought the idea home, according to a historical narrative written by store volunteer Bonni Huffman.

Since then, the store has moved several times before finding its present home in 2015.

Fair-trade stores benefit those who most need it, according to Mary Sheehan, one of its founders.

“Fair trade focuses on people before profits, which means that people at the bottom of he ladder are encouraged in benefiting their lives rather than being taken advantage of,” Sheehan said.

Every purchase gives sellers, crafters and impoverished artists in other countries a chance to make a living.

“We aim to offer hope to craftspeople in poverty areas of the world striving to become self-sufficient as well as locally in many ways by projects in our mission area,” said Sheehan of Marshall.

Buying fair-trade products helps workers in developing countries get a fair price for their products. This helps reduce poverty, provides for the ethical treatment of workers and farmers and promotes environmentally sustainable practices, according to The Olive Branch’s mission statement.

The store relies on a dedicated group of volunteers, including Vivian Sylvester of Bradford Woods.

“The OB provides a gathering place where people are valued and appreciated for what they bring to The Olive Branch ministry. We refer to The Olive Branch as our ‘happy place,’ where all are welcome,” said Sylvester, who has been volunteering there for more than 25 years.

The anniversary party will feature three refugee cooks, courtesy of THRIVEPittsburgh, an interdenominational nonprofit that works with other churches and nonprofits in the northern Pittsburgh area to assist refugees and immigrants coming into the country. The dishes will include Guatemalan empanadas; Rwandan chicken, beef or veggie kabobs; and Syrian pistachio baklava at three food stations.

The food will be sold at prices to help support the refugee cooks and their families. Each cook will have a table from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., said Pauline Spring of THRIVEPittsburgh.

“This is a wonderful collaboration between The Olive Branch and THRIVEPittsburgh, because of our similar commitment to empower those communities of people, both here and abroad, that are struggling with uncertainty and inequity. We both serve those who are trying to make a better life for themselves and their families, whether in Pittsburgh or abroad,” Spring said.

A local branch of Thrivent, a financial services organization and fraternal benefit society, donated $250 to help the cooks defray their expenses for ingredients so they can make more of a profit from the sale, Spring said.

“By inviting some of our cooks to participate in their 50th anniversary celebration, The Olive Branch is telling them, ‘We see you. We know your struggle, and we want to help you succeed,’ ” Spring said.

Members of Mission to El Salvador will demonstrate the art of quilling, which is used at their programs in El Salvador to create greeting cards sold at The Olive Branch and provide income for street women, Sheehan said.

The store also will have a display table of its metal artwork from artists in Haiti, who have been affected by the ongoing violence there. The art is made from the lids of oil drums.

The shop’s inventory is supplied by fair-trade vendors, such as Sales Exchange for Refugee Rehabilitation and Vocation, one of the first fair-trade organizations in the world.

The store features a unique array of products, from coffee to soaps and lotions, toys and jewelry, spices and soups, to name a few. Most are handmade and sustainable from natural products. Each product is accompanied with information about the artisan and what the purchase is supporting.

Everyone at the store is a volunteer, Sheehan said.

Kim Kittle of Pine has been a volunteering there for five years.

“Since I’ve been here, we have grown. I like just beng around other people and meeting other people,” Kittle said.

One of the original organizers is 104 years old and lives in a nursing home in Little Rock, Ark., Sheehan said.

“It is totally amazing to me to have been a part of watching that vision grow to what it is today and even to think of the possibilities for future,” Sheehan said.

One of the volunteers said she bought the men in her family wallets and belts made from recycled tires, which they loved because “they’re into cars.”

The store also hosts a variety of programs and other initiatives to help local community members, such as making “busy blankets” for people with Alzheimer’s or memory issues, Sew Powerful Purse missions filled with necessary products so girls in Zambia and Haiti can still attend school during their menstrual cycle, or soap sacks for those without a home in Pittsburgh.

For details about the store, visit olivebranchwexford.org.