St. Paul Parish Hosts Fair Trade Sale November 14, 2009

St. Paul Parish Hosts Fair Trade Sale Nov. 14
Submitted by Nancy Hurley

Wouldn’t it be wonderful this Christmas to find beautiful, handcrafted gifts at prices you could afford? Wouldn’t it be even more wonderful if your purchases could help artisans and farmers worldwide support themselves and their families? That’s the idea behind fair trade, and you can be a part of it. On Saturday, November 14, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. St. Paul Catholic Church in Evansville will host a fair trade sale that’s open to the public.
You’ll find gorgeous jewelry, scarves, baskets, pottery, table linens, Christmas ornaments, Nativities from around the world, and children’s books and toys along with food products like chocolate, soup mixes, coffee, and tea. By eliminating the middleman fair trade organizations can offer these items at a surprisingly reasonable cost while still providing craftsmen and farmers in developing countries a fair price for their work.
The Fair Trade Sale is being organized by the St. Paul Council of Catholic Women in cooperation with SERRV, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eradicating poverty by providing opportunities and support to artisans and farmers around the world. The group hopes to make the sale an annual event.
During the sale the St. Paul Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) will sell soup made from fair trade mixes, cornbread, beverages, and homemade baked goods. CYO includes youth from the parish in grades eight through twelve. Proceeds from the CYO sale, as well as ten percent of the proceeds from the Fair Trade Sale, will be used to mail holiday care packages to local soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Admission to the event is free, but participants are asked to donate either $1 or one of the following items for local Thanksgiving baskets for area residents in need: cranberry sauce, jello, cake mix, frosting, or stuffing. About 150 Thanksgiving baskets will be distributed by the Evansville Ecumenical Care Closet later this month.
For more information on the Fair Trade Sale, or to place a soldier’s name on our list to receive a holiday care package, please contact Nancy Hurley at 882-4327 or NJH223@GMAIL.COM.
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