Bright green, blue and yellow dog leashes made of recycled climbing rope sat coiled and neatly arranged on a table inside of a Stanley Marketplace storefront. Behind it stood Cristian Bolivar, dressed in a graphic T-shirt and a pair of purple wired headphones snaked around his neck. He hoped the icy roads wouldn't keep potential customers away.
Bolivar and other vendors, selling everything from arepas to keychains, are recent migrant arrivals who are trying their hands at entrepreneurship thanks to the help of local volunteers who put on "Finding Their Way," a fundraiser that is being hosted inside Aurora's Stanley Marketplace every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. through the month of January.
The effort is meant to put to use the skillsets of migrants in need of work. Other services include dance classes, boxing lessons, and even hair braiding. Local volunteer Celia VanDerLoop has worked with Bolivar, supporting his efforts to sell dog leashes. Bolivar has a business partner who is also a recent arrival but asked not to be identified.
"We're in the process of setting up an LLC..." said VanDerLoop. "We're starting to keep better track of what their expenses are...and if this is going to be sustainable, they're going to have to learn how to be salespersons."
Shortly after losing her long-time partner in March, VanDerLoop has found a new purpose in supporting two Venezuelan migrants in need of a place to stay. Now retired and with two empty rooms, VanDerLoop welcomed them into her home.
"You retire and then what's your meaning in life?" VanDerLoop said. "This is adding meaning to my life...so they're doing as much for me as I'm doing for them."
With the help of her adult son, VanDerLoop found a way to get donated climbing rope from a gym in Golden that the men could then use to create eco-friendly dog leashes. For Bolivar, one of the many jobs he held in Venezuela was that of a dog catcher.
"[VanDerLoop] gave us the vision and I thought it was a good idea because I do know a little bit more about animals," Bolivar said. "She has really encouraged us to move forward. At first, everything was difficult and she has made it so that our reality is totally different."
Joking that the three of them are, "fluent in Google Translate," VanDerLoop has managed to use her minimal Spanish skills to help the men run their booth at Stanley Marketplace. She has even managed to partner with Sloan's Lake Leroy's Bagels in selling some of their leashes during the work day.
"Our goal is to get me out of the middle and to have this be their business," VanDerLoop said.
"For us this opportunity is very important because you leave your country with the hope of a better life, of a total change," Bolivar said. "I am truly sure that most of us come with the plan to work and that is why we are 100% grateful for this valuable opportunity."
The marketplace concept is much like other storefront units in Stanley
Visitors are able to peruse through the food, goods and services on display. A rotation of almost 30 different vendors over the last three weeks have filled the space, including some who have since moved their services out working as personal contractors. Organizers have also built a submission form for other migrant vendors potentially interested in selling goods or services at the storefront.
The market was born when members of the Central Park & Park Hill - Venezuelan Migrant Support Facebook had an idea to showcase the skills of the many migrants they were supporting.
"All of us kind of had that same mindset of like, 'How can we get these people in front of an audience to make money on a consistent basis that's more sustainable?" said Janesa Lockhart, an admin and volunteer with the Facebook group.
Lockhart, a vendor at local farmer's markets in the summer, thought of hosting a popup of sorts at a nearby public park. But when volunteers reached out about using one of these vacant storefronts, Stanley Marketplace General Manager Ally Fredeen loved the partnership.
"We have this space and we go, 'we're learning these stories, we can either just ignore that or say, let's be part of the solution." Fredeen said. "We've said yes to a few school bake sales around, this is kind of no different than somebody that's made something and wants to share it. And these are all donation based as well."
Stanley offered to host the migrant market for a singular day in December but, according to Lockhart, "halfway through the day it was going so well that [Stanley] offered us to do a series."
"We are not taking anything," Fredeen said. "We're not charging a usage or a rental fee or percentage of sales. Everything that they are making is going to them."
Migrants need to make money and setting up inside of a marketplace with plenty of consumer foot traffic is prime real estate for this effort
Lockhart met Daniela Perez at a nearby shelter. When Perez and her family moved into their own place, Perez invited Lockhart over for arepas. Since then, Lockhart has partnered with Perez to help get her business off the ground, providing transportation to and from the market and even helping Perez and her husband create an LLC of their own.
"Moving forward I would like to buy my own food truck and be able to sell my arepas whenever people would like," Perez said.
Raymar Blanco caught the bus in the early morning with a plastic bin of rice pudding cups. Using aluminum foil to cover the bin, a missing lid would not keep her from making it another Tuesday.
"Next week, if God allows, I'll bring lasagna," Blanco said. "Thanks to this program that has provided help to migrants, we are making ourselves known."
Perez most recently thought of selling drinks, something that surprised Lockhart. She's been able to see the entrepreneurial spirit take among many of the migrants that return to sell in the market.
"So many transactions can happen without having to know the language," Lockhart said. "It's surprised me how quickly, especially the return vendors, are just, like, catching on."
Challenges, future offers and a look ahead at the migrant marketplace.
Due to licensing requirements, some services like haircuts, manicures and pedicures, have become unavailable on site. The pivot for organizers and vendors is to then encourage migrants to market their services instead. According to organizers, some migrants have been able to book enough appointments to rotate out of the marketplace and operate on their own accord.
The market is now open Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. This was because after a successful trial period, vendors are hoping to catch more visitors during the busier food traffic hours.
Childcare and transportation are the main challenges for organizers and vendors alike. Staggering shifts so migrants can take care of their kids and coordinating rides to and from the market are what makes this a labor intensive role for volunteers like Lockhart.
"I will say it's like a giant labor of love," Lockhart said.
Stanley currently has the marketplace slated to run through the end of January but, according to Fredeen, there's a possibility that the operation will continue keeping in mind that the vacant unit could still get offers from an interested renter.
"And so as long as we have a space available, we would love to keep doing it," Fredeen said.
