Final weekend for 10,000 Villages sales on P.E.I. for 2018
Jewelry, pottery, paper products, scarves, coffees, chocolates and ornaments available at West River United Church, Summerside Presbyterian Church
This Friday and Saturday will be the last opportunity to buy fair trade hand-crafted gifts and home decor from Ten Thousand Villages Festival Sales on P.E.I. for 2018.
There will be two sales: one at West River United Church, 9 Cornwall Rd., (behind the Esso station) on Friday, Nov. 2, 4-6 p.m., and Saturday, Nov. 3, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and the other at Summerside Presbyterian Church at 130 Victoria Rd., (across from Three Oaks), on Friday, Nov. 2, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday, Nov. 3, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“By holding this sale, “says Cornwall sale organizer Joan Melanson, “we are giving customers in P.E.I. a chance to buy unique products while helping people in developing countries to meet basic needs for themselves and their families. Together we are making a difference.”
Sales are run by volunteers, so all the money raised goes back to the artisans who make the products. Indeed, the artisans are paid up front half of the fair trade price so they can purchase their materials and the rest of the price as soon as the item reaches the Canadian warehouses.
The income helps pay for food, education, health care and housing for over 120 different artisan groups in over 30 countries worldwide. About 70 per cent of the artisans are women in mother-led families. Some of the artisan groups also strive to hire persons with physical disabilities and intentionally look for people who are unemployed or severely under-employed. These vulnerable people receive not only income but also a sense of hope, dignity and joy that come with earning a decent living.
Ten Thousand Villages Sales are ideal places to shop for that difficult-to-buy-for person on a Christmas list. Unique jewelry, pottery, paper products, scarves, coffees, chocolates and ornaments at fair trade prices will be on sale to meet any and all individual tastes.