Tucked away in North Chili lies Crafting For Good, one of many crafting thrift stores in the Greater Rochester Area. Founded in 2018 by Sheryl Byers, Crafting for Good is a nonprofit that sells donated items from craft lovers. Their merchandise includes refurbished sewing machines, quilting patterns, paper crafting tools, yarn, beads, books and other craft supplies. However, sales only scratch the surface of the store’s overall mission. At their core, Crafting for Good operates with one goal: to fund food and clean water to those who need it — locally, internationally and globally.
The story of Crafting for Good began with Byers’ mission trip to the Dominican Republic. One of her tasks was to bring groceries to a village on a sugarcane plantation, which lacked basic needs during the off-season.
Byers soon realized that most of the Haitians were effectively treated as slaves on the plantation. Many plantation owners promised better wages only to seize their workers’ paperwork and prevent them from returning home once they arrived. In 2023, reports from Democracynow described these conditions as “modern day slavery.”
While dispersing food around the village, Byers noticed the poor living conditions.
“People are living out of lean-tos,” she described. “It was horrifying.”
The situation only became more tragic when she asked her guide if the village had clean water. She learned that their well had been unusable for 20 years and had only recently been fixed by a local church congregation.
Byers explained, “Plantation owners don’t have an impetus to spend money on the people. They could always get more.”
The experience left a lasting impression; as a result, Byers began to reflect on how many communities lack clean drinking water. She stated feeling that God called her to do something.
“I was on a plane thinking of what we just saw, and I thought, that’s what we [Crafting for Good] can do. We can fund for food and clean water.”
Byers believes that society overlooks people who lack clean water and access to food. She stated she feels that the technology and resources to fix these issues do exist, but that those in power have other priorities.
Crafting for Good, as the name suggests, is founded for the collective good. Donations from “crafty people,” as Byers calls them, have been overwhelming.
Crafting for Good funds many resources locally, nationally and internationally. Locally they partner with Foodlink, a Rochester-based non-profit whose goal is to end hunger through community-building and food assistance initiatives.
Nationally, they partner with Dig Deep: Navajo & Appalachian Water Project, a nonprofit organization that serves millions of people in the US without drinking water. Byers thought people in the United States would have access to clean water as standard; however, she soon learned this wasn’t the reality.
“There are a lot of towns that don’t have reliable drinking water, and this is the one that kills me. In the Southwest, the Native American Reservations… How much as a country can we suck in the way that we behave to the people who were here first?”
Internationally, they fund two organizations, the Ugandan Water Project, which employs locals to maintain and provide maintenance to wells and clean water, and the World Central Kitchen, which responds to world emergencies, crises and natural disasters.
“They mobilize existing people, food kitchens, volunteers… they’ll go in and organize, and they feed anyone who’s been affected, like first responders. They were there in the LA fires,” recalls Byers.
Currently, the store is run by 20 volunteers, who help sell items on eBay and Facebook for as cheap as $1, depending on the item. They host events in the community and fundraise. As of June 2026, Crafting for Good has been recognized for raising $131,000 for clean water and food. Going forward, Crafting for Good intends to continue its mission of doing good for others.
