Recently, a friend shared with me some cool things about geese that have been spurring us on during this crazy holiday season at Stroopies! Geese our communal…they tackle things together and when the leader in the front gets tired in the flying formation, it just knows to fall back into the pack, and let another come up to the front to take the lead. Geese are known to “honk” to encourage each other when they just need an extra nudge to keep going. Also, in the Celtic tradition the Holy Spirit is represented not as a peaceful dove but instead as a “Wild Goose.” The Wild Goose reveals a Spirit which is courageous, noisy, and passionate. This symbol reminds us that God’s Spirit cannot be contained or tamed. Sometimes, on this journey with Stroopies (especially during the holidays) we wonder if we are just on a “wild goose chase”…and have lost our minds! :) Stroopies was founded to provide meaningful employment for resettled refugee women, to be a safe place for women to start over in their new home. We love this part of what we do, and it grounds us. Our current reality at Stroopies is that we do approximately 50% of our business in the last six weeks of the year. This past weekend we were set up at six different remote locations spreading holiday cheer and selling lots of Stroopies for holiday gifts!!! When we are really busy during the holidays, we need people to “honk” and encourage us! We need to “honk” at each other and spur each other on to keep going. We also desperately need the Holy Spirit, our Wild Goose Leader to nourish and encourage our spirits. The last several nights when my husband and I have been laying down to sleep, flocks of geese have been flying above our skylights, honking away. Their honks have been a reminder that we are not alone and that there is a “heavenly team Stroopie” working on our behalf as well! So, my friends, be encouraged by the geese and the lessons that they have to teach us…and keep “honking.” Your “honks” are spurring us on!!!
Stroopies in the NEWS!
Thank you WGAL for featuring us in this story!!
One of our employees is featured !
We are so excited when the amazing women we have the opportunity to work with have an opportunity to share some of their story. Take a look at our employee, Salem, in the below videos made by Church World Services.
We Started Subscription Boxes!!!
WE CAN’T WAIT TO INTRODUCE YOU TO THE STROOPIES GROUPIE BOX!
Boxes shipped every two months. On the 1st of Nov, Jan, March, May and Sept.
Cancel at any time!
Our subscription boxes are packed full of fun surprises - all of which come from companies who have hearts and products that we love - and we are sure you will love them too!
Each delicious box will have a Stroopies Traditional Gift Pack, 4 specialty stroopies (flavors will vary and sometimes will be created JUST FOR YOU!), a hot drink to enjoy with your stroopies (a variety of hot tea, coffee or hot chocolate) and a SURPRISE gift that will be ethically created and will serve to introduce you to more great companies and amazing products!
Each box retails between $45-$50 but will be available to you for $34.99/every 2 months. We will ship your Stroopies Groupie Box out every two months, on the 1st of each of these months (Nov, Jan, March, May, July, Sept) and every box will be full of new surprises!
There are sooo many things you can do with each of your boxes!! You can keep each one and enjoy it as it arrives, give different boxes you receive away as gifts, send an entire subscription to a friend, etc… What will you do with yours?
Staff Summer Picnic
We had such a fun, relaxing time together at our staff picnic! It was such a joy to have our families together and share so many delicious foods that everyone brought to share! We talked, played volleyball, wiffle ball, ate ice-cream, and some of the kids enjoyed a swim in the pool!
Washington DC Fieldtrip!
This summer we had a GREAT time together in Washington, DC! We rented a van, drove other vehicles to be sure that everyone was able to come along and enjoyed a beautiful day together in Washington, DC.
Did you know that as part of the benefits package at Stroopies the director of Employee Care puts together several community building fieldtrips a year. These fieldtrips are fully paid for by Stroopies and is paid time for the employees who attend. We love having this time together and are grateful to be able to relax and be with one another out of the work environment.
Grateful for the opportunity to share with American Express
It was our delight at Stroopies to contribute to this article written for American Express! We hope that it inspires more companies to hire resettled refugees in their organizations!
An opportunity to speak at Conestoga Valley Highschool
What a beautiful opportunity to speak to an International Studies class at Conestoga Valley Highschool. Mary was able to share a little bit of her story of fleeing from Burma, resettling in Lancaster & working at Stroopies. We had about 20 min of questions/answers with those in the class. We are so grateful for these opportunities.
Art in English Class
Did you know that as part of the benefit package of being an employee at Stroopies, each woman has 30min of paid english class each day? After a week of learning and working with words and books relating to Spring, we had a fun English Class doing some fun creativity.
Lunch at the new Southern Market in Lancaster!
It was a fun lunch together at the new Southern Market!
