Fair Trade Ministries
Fair Trade Ministries
In the spirit of Catholic Social Teaching on economic and social justice – Including Pope Benedict XVI’s recent encyclical, Caritas en Veritate – many Bellarmine parishioners strive for and work actively towards an economy of community, conscience, solidarity and fairness that promotes human dignity.
Fair Trade coffee and tea monthly sales: A parish JustFaith group felt inspired about the stories of fair trade and solidarity that they learned about, and as a group initiated the parish’s monthly sales of Equal Exchange fair trade coffee and tea (and, in season, chocolate!) – which has become a very popular effort among parishioners knowing that our coffee, tea (and chocolate!) purchases support fair trade practices, environmental sustainability and dignity for small workers and workers around the world.
Annual Alternative Gift Fair: Bellarmine’s Social Mission Core Team initiated its first Alternative Gift Fair in November 2007, to support more nonprofits and fair trade groups. Parishioners “purchase” alternative gifts from local nonprofits as alternative holiday gifts to families and friends. Fair trade sales, including Ten Thousand Villages, also comprise half the event, proving popular holiday gifts with a global solidarity story to tell! Now an annual parish event, nonprofit gifts and fair trade sales continue to rise each year, surpassing $12,500!
Kiva.org: Another JustFaith group’s learning about fair trade led them to discover Kiva.org, a microenterprise website for grassroots global entrepreneurs otherwise without access to capital. Bellarmine’s parishioner “portfolio” has grown to over $5,000 and is continuously reinvested!
Related links of interest:
- Catholic Relief Services Fair Trade website …support a fair global economy!
- Catholics Confront Global Poverty …a million Catholics confronting global poverty
- Equal Exchange fairly trade coffee, tea, chocolate and snacks!
- Kiva.org …microenterprise loans that change the lives of village entrepreneurs
- Ten Thousand Villages, a fair trade retail store (located locally in O’Bryonville!)
For more information on our Fair Trade ministries, contact Jeff Campbell, Bellarmine Social Mission, at 745-1908 or campbellj5@xavier.edu
