Catherine Dillard
Esther Elkins
Mary Eileen Boyle, O.S.U.
Phyllis Robinson
Shelley Boyle

Catherine Dillard

Catherine is a person who loves to sew. Her friends tell me that she was sewing clothes for them when they were young. That love of sewing took her from Cleveland to California where she became employed at an industrial garment job. It was there that she experienced sweatshops. Although her pay was not much above minimum wage, she said the women who could not speak English were taken advantage of and were paid less than minimum wage.

In the 70's she was recruited in Cleveland by Fr. Bill Karg to train women in power sewing on industrial machines. Fr. Karg was trying to help individuals who had few skills for jobs. At that time, there was still clothing manufacturing for some of the big companies. In addition, the skill on the sewing machine led to some good jobs working at the Chevy plant making upholstery for cars.

In the ensuing years, Catherine stayed sewing in the bridal industry while she raised her family.

Now, Catherine is sewing and creating beautiful women's fashions for Esperanza Threads. When the cooperative moves to a site where everyone will be working together, she will be the manager.

Esther Elkins

Esther is our suprimo pattern cutter. Without her as our first step we would not get to the sewing. Esther retired from a supervisory job at Suburban Hospital where she literally kept everyone whole [without holes] from sheets to hospital gowns. Now, Esther works with us and has the challenging job of adjusting patterns to fit the many custom jobs we take on for our customers.

Mary Eileen Boyle, O.S.U.

Mary Eileen Boyle is an Ursuline Sister who found herself looking for a job after returning from the Ft. Belknap Reservation in Montana where she learned from and served the Assiniboine and Gros Ventre People. Her congregation asked her to return to Cleveland, but the days are over where a sister is given an appointment in a white envelope. Everyone does their own job hunt.

One day she received in the mail a description of a clothing cooperative that was started in Maryland by the Grassroots Coalition for Environmental and Economic Justice. She found herself walking to the phone and speaking to the author of that letter, John Conner. John and his wife, Iona dreamed of a way to make practical what they had been trying to share with audiences concerning the topics of the environment, economic justice, sweatshops, and fair wages. That practical application was a cooperative with workers who all shared in being members with equal votes on how the cooperative was run. This was not a top down business with a CEO receiving the lion share of the profit. In the cooperative, everyone would benefit. The focus would be to employ the poor and empower them.

Mary Eileen envisioned the cooperative as a way to create systemic change. She saw that the cooperative could be a mirror reflecting a different economic system; one where everyone's basic needs could be met.

With a teaching background of 23 years and 4 years as a pastoral minister, there was a need to learn every step in setting up a business in Cleveland. She says her belief in Divine Providence is what led the way. She prayed for doors to open and people to walk through who would have the know-how to help. People agreed to be on the Board of Trustees and Board of Directors and then the women destined to become a part of the cooperative were led to her. It seemed at times to move so slowly, yet she realized that if it had moved any more swiftly, she would have been overwhelmed.

The Cleveland coalition changed its name to the Grassroots Coalition for Economic and Environmental Justice of Ohio. The environmental piece was very important, but the emphasis was first on the economy, so Mary Eileen and the board reversed the name [from the Maryland version] when they were incorporated in the State of Ohio. In the Fall of 2001, the cooperative also became independent from the Maryland organization and took on the new name: Esperanza Threads. The name "esperanza" means hope in Spanish and Mary Eileen says: "We have a big hope for all those who are and will become a part of this cooperative and succeeding cooperative."

Phyllis Robinson

Phyllis is part of the recruiting from the neighborhood. Fr. Dan Begin has sought to bring jobs to the Mt. Pleasant area of Cleveland. In giving Esperanza Threads an office and workspace, he hoped we would be able to help the people of his territory first. Phyllis joined Esperanza Threads in December of 2001.

Without Phyllis, none of the clothes would have the finished look they do. Phyllis puts those extra special touches on the clothes and takes on the hard job of sorting out the coding and tagging of the many different articles of clothing.

Shelley Boyle

Shelley was the first to come to work for the cooperative and Coalition as the bookkeeper. She was one of those people who walked through the door as an answer to prayer when the finances became too overwhelming.

Her ease with the books and organizational skills are unbelievable. Shelley has been an invaluable help with the outdoor sales, also. She's a tiny person with a big spirit.