Sorena Gilkinson, owner of Handcrafted from the Heart and Ariel Cartwright, owner of Mayberry Jungle, have collaborated to begin The Inspire Good of WNY nonprofit organization – though doing good is something the woman have been doing for a while now.

“I wanted to start one back in 2018 and never did,” Gilkinson said. “My friend Ariel, who owns the Mayberry Jungle, wanted to start one too so we decided to start one together. The name Inspire Good was totally her idea. I added of WNY and we incorporated it.”

The nonprofit is brand new and the two women are still working on their official mission statement, but the idea behind the nonprofit ultimately comes down to inspiring people to do good with the community and give back to it. The pair have already run two craft shows through the nonprofit and will be running two markets in Mayville, along with the third annual Sidewalk Chalk Contest, which is set to be a full-blown festival this year. Gilkinson said they also plan on giving out scholarships beginning in 2025, along with sponsoring the community in different ways, including offering programs and events.

The first new event the nonprofit will be doing is Mayville’s Saturday Evening Market, set to run on Saturdays from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., on the last Saturday in June and running through July, August and possibly September.

Submitted Photo Sorena Gilkinson, owner of Handcrafted from the Heart, who recently started a nonprofit with another Mayville business owner.

“That idea was spurred by people looking for more to do in Mayville and I thought that we would give that a try in the lake district at the train depot,” Gilkinson said.

At the moment Gilkinson and Cartwright are looking to collaborate with local businesses and are open to vendors of all sorts. They are also hoping to collaborate with businesses and organizations for other events they will be doing. This can mean sponsoring events or needed items, helping fund the scholarship fund or collaborating with them and the cross-market.

Overall, Gilkinson said the idea is to inspire others to do good.

“We are hoping to continue inspiring others to do good, get outside and into the community, and give back,” Gilkinson said. “Every penny that is donated will come back into our community and we are looking forward to working within the community in this capacity and growing our organization.”