Global Village Peoria - Blog

Recent Memories

7/13/2018

This April:
The guest speaker at our Annual Board Meeting 2018: Jackie Corlett, founder of Motif

One of the highlights of our meeting: Jackie helps one of our purchasing board members Wendy Thompson wrap a sari

Also this April we participated in the Eco-Friendly Fashion Show at ICC. Members of SAFE (Student Association for the Environment) rocked the runway in Fair Trade, upcycled, thrift store fashions.
Left: ICC International Student Club members Kathy Pinnock and Makayla Collins wearing Global Village sarongs.
Right: Global Village board members Nancy Long and Tracy Fox with SAFE Student Advisors Kirsten Jacobson Flex and Jenn Baer

Sweet 16!

7/10/2018

Sixteen years of offering Fair Trade products in Central Illinois...and you made that happen! Thank you to our loyal customers, thank you to our faithful volunteers. Thank you to our amazing vendors, who have brought beautiful craft items and tasty food products from around the world. Thank you to the media and the socially conscious organizations in Central Illinois who have supported our mission.

Help us celebrate this Saturday with music and drumming on the sidewalk, sweet treats, games, and a drawing for a $25 gift certificate. You can stop by Global Village any day this week to enter the drawing, one entry per person, per day.

This week we will share memories of projects and events that you have shared with us.

In 2004-2005 and 2008-2010 you enabled us, through purchases and direct donations, to assist people in Guatemala and Haiti.

Summer Time!

6/7/2018

Wahoo! Join us this Saturday for the 38th Annual Moss Avenue Sale & Festival. The sale gets bigger every year. Look for us at 1301A Moss Ave., 8 am-3pm.

And if that's not your bag, come see us at the shop. Nifty new gifts arriving every day! So if you are shopping for Father's Day, Graduation, or a special wedding or anniversary present, go Fair Trade. And we have greeting cards for all occasions as well. And if the weather holds for us, we might have music on the sidewalk. Y'can never tell.

And that's just the beginning of our summer! Our Sweet 16 Birthday is coming in July. August will find us at Ignite Peoria! and India Fest. And we are planning a big pre-inventory sale!

World Fair Trade Day 2018

5/3/2018

Join us Saturday as we celebrate World Fair Trade Day! Street music, Fair Trade treats, door prizes, and more.

This year we are doing a benefit for the Center for Prevention of Abuse. A portion of our sales will help CFPA fight human trafficking in Central Illinois.

From the May, 2018 issue of Interbusiness Issues

"On January 4, 2018, the Center for Prevention of Abuse (CFPA) was proud to reveal the creation of a new department, Human Trafficking Services, to care for victims of modern-day slavery—those exploited through force, fraud or coercion into involuntary labor or the commercial sex trade. Much like the services CFPA provides to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault or elder abuse, we welcome all those looking to live free from violence and abuse, including victims of human trafficking...

"[M]illions of women, men and children around the world—including here in central Illinois—are modern-day slaves. We have seen with certainty that the cruel, inhumane practice of human trafficking is prosperous in Peoria, Tazewell and Woodford counties. Of the clients we have identified and cared for, just three are foreign-born. Fifteen percent came to us from out-of-state, 10 percent were from the Chicago area, and a full 70 percent are from right here at home, native to central Illinois. Slavery has not ended."

Show your love for Fair Trade, find the perfect gift for Mom or your Graduate, and make Central Illinois a better place to live.

Earth Day Weekend

4/19/2018

We have a busy weekend ahead of us. Global Village has three Earth Day events on our schedule. First up: we will be participating in the Eco-Friendly Fashion Show, sponsored by ICC's Student Association for the Environment. In the past we have participated with SAFE in several film events.

The show will be at the East Peoria Campus dining room, starting at 7:30 PM this Friday, April 20. Come and see how to "green" your wardrobe and gifting. Fair Trade items as well as recycled and upcycled fashions will be featured. GV volunteer Jade Allen is an organizer.

On Saturday we will be celebrating Earth Day at Forest Park Nature Center. This is an annual event for us. Shop--Mother's Day and Graduation are just around the corner. Celebrate Mother Nature! Think globally and act locally enjoying fun and informational booths, live music, great local food, a kids area and more!

And we will also be at ICC's International Fair. Phew! This is also an annual event for us, and we are delighted to participate. ICC's international Students celebrate their cultures with food and music and entertainment. This year the fair is at the Peoria Campus on North University.

Free Trade vs Fair Trade

2/9/2018

We've all been there: that moment when someone on TV or someone in the room confuses Free Trade and Fair Trade. We all recognize the error, immediately open our mouths to respond...and find the confusion is infectious!

This video from Fair World Project is clear, concise, and quotable. And if you feel uplifted...

Take Action: Tell Chocolate Mega Company: Keeping Farmers in Poverty is Not OK.

Fair Trade Issues, an OLLI Class

8/6/2017

Want to know more about Fair Trade? Celebrate World Fair Trade Month with a four week OLLI class at Bradley University. (Wednesdays, 12:30-1:30 pm).

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Bradley University (OLLI) is an organization of over 1000 Peoria-area residents, from age 50 to 98, who want to stay vital and active as they reach and enjoy retirement. One way to do that is to keep learning, so they participate in the many programs of OLLI that include educational travel, classes, lectures, cinema events, and study groups

Registration is open now. For more information go to https://bradley.edu/academic/continue/lifelong/olli/register/

October 4 – Nancy Long: Fair Trade – An Alternative to Migration
Nancy will discuss the fair trade movement, compare free and fair trade, discuss principles of fair trade, and talk about the fair trade shop in Peoria Heights.

October 11 – Tracy Fox: Fair Trade Artisans Worldwide
Tracy will tell transformative stories from fair trade artisans, describe how community development empowers women by allowing them living wages, and discuss how artisans find outlets through fair trade.

October 18 – Eve Brimberry: Fair Trade Farming and Production
Eve will cover the history of fair trade farming, stories of small farm co-ops, food products as a global village, and will conduct a taste test of fair trade chocolate and
coffee.

October 25 – Steve Zika: Executive Director of Kidknits and Social Entrepreneur
Steve will discuss how trade has transformed communities in Africa and South America through the development of curricula regarding world economic issues.

Our Fifteenth Birthday!

6/30/2017

tiara from imagarcade.com

Join us this July as Global Village celebrates our fifteenth birthday. Old friends have been waiting for our Progressive Anniversary Sale; new friends will want to take advantage of our bargains. July 1-10, save 10% on one item. July 11-20, save 20% on one item, and July 21-31...you guessed it! 30% off 1 item.

July 13-15, join us for Fair Trade treats and prizes.

This is the time to buy that perfect gift for a friend or for yourself. Or start your Christmas shopping. Doug and Wendy have been doing our purchasing since April, so, if you haven't dropped by recently, you'll be delighted with the lovely new chimes from India,and hand-carved wooden serving utensils from Africa and Central America

And thank you for supporting Fair Trade and Global Village for fifteen years.

World Fair Trade Day at Global Village

5/5/2017

Join us Saturday, May 13 as we celebrate World Fair Trade Day. 25% of our sales for the day will benefit the Center for Prevention of Abuse, and we will have entertainment and Fair Trade treats.

World Fair Trade Day is an inclusive worldwide festival of events celebrating Fair Trade's contribution to the fight against poverty, exploitation, and climate change. We share many common concerns with the Center for Prevention of Abuse. The Center offers services for victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse, and for seniors and people with disabilities who are vulnerable to exploitation or abuse. They provide shelter, counseling for victims and perpetrators, and community education. Their Winter 2017 newsletter addressed sex trafficking Funding for CPA has been drastically cut during the State of Illinois's ongoing budget crisis, so we encourage you to shop with us for Mother's Day, Father's Day, and graduation presents.

Global Village is a proud member of the Fair Trade Federation. This year on World Fair Trade Day, we invite you to join us in recognizing and celebrating the Fair Trade relationships of the Fair Trade Federation community. The FTF community works to open doors for artisans and farmers across the world for their strong dedication to fair trade. Creating opportunity is at the heart of the Fair Trade Federation principles.
together.

The Center for Prevention of Abuse has served Central Illinois for more than forty years. Help them open doors for vulnerable members of our community.

March 8: Global Village Closed for International Women's Day

3/4/2017

March 8 is International Women's Day. This year the organizers of the Women's March In Washington, D.C are calling for a general strike "A Day Without Women" on March 8. In a post on the Occupy Democrats website, dated 02/15/17, author Marisa Manfredo said, "The Day Without Women will highlight the critical roles that women play in all areas of society. Women still play a disproportionately large role in household work, childcare, and caring for relatives; but they also work in every sector and represented (although often underrepresented) at every job level. If women all take the day off, America will stop."

Global Village will be closed on Wednesday, March 8, to honor the women farmers and artisans who work in Fair Trade cooperatives in India, Nepal, the Philippines, Chili, Ecuador, Guatemala, Ghana, Rwanda, and places in between. During March, which is Women's History Month, we will be featuring in our front windows products produced by women farmers and artisans. Like the members of Bhaktapur Women Craft Paper who make our new gift paper:

"Nepali’s have been producing handmade paper in their villages for over a thousand years and still use it in their daily lives. The paper, made from the bark of the Daphne or 'lokta' bush, is renowned for its exceptional durability and wonderful texture. [The owners of Ganesh Himal Trading] work directly with the women of BWCP to design beautiful and functional journals, card sets, stationary, wrapping paper, gift bags, gift cards, picture frames and more.

"The women at BWCP are committed to community development and they continue to work closely with the rural villages around Baglung that produce the handmade paper. As sales climb they will try to buy as much of the paper as these villages can produce. Although the original UNICEF project no longer exists, the concept of a worker owned, women run, fair trade company producing sustainable paper products sourced from Nepali villages is alive and well thanks to Ganesh Himal Trading’s commitment to keeping alive this long standing fair trade partnership."