The End of an Era (or internship…!)

Marketing Intern, Bernie, shows off her artsy hands after block printing for World Fair Trade Day.

Our celebration of World Fair Trade day marked my last day as an intern at Ten Thousand Villages. Despite these last few weeks, it still feels weird not going in every week to this store I’ve come to love so much and not getting to see the absolutely amazing people I’ve met in my time there.

That’s definitely what I will miss (and have been missing these past several weeks) the most: the people. I’m not exaggerating when I say that every person I came into contact with at the store were some of the kindest people. I can barely put into words how amazing the people I got to work with and be around on a daily basis were/ are. If I was still in Austin, I’d make sure to give all of them a hug—maybe next time? I found the passion these people had for Fair Trade inspiring.  How hard they worked to spread its mission and to the effort they put into something much bigger than themselves to make the world a better place was humbling.

If that last paragraph was too sentimental, let me offer something a bit more concrete about what I enjoyed here at my time at Ten Thousand Villages:

By far one of the most memorable experiences was for one of our volunteer “social hours” where we had a few guys from the Multicultural Refugee Coalition talk to us. The guys’ stories were amazing, and one of them Daniel, played the thumb piano he inherited from his father and sang. Even though I didn’t understand a word he was saying,  I was in awe of him the entire time and it was one of the most incredible things I had seen or heard. Maybe it was the purity of it all: it was simply his voice and his plucking the metal, but it was so beautiful. Just proof that music transcends language barriers. This evening will definitely stick with me… I honestly don’t think I would have had this opportunity to witness this anywhere else.

I also photographed 2 of our major in-store events and naturally, I loved doing this simply because it involved me taking pictures! For our International Women’s Day Celebration, just being surrounded by so many incredible women in one place was so amazing, it was almost overwhelming.  For World Fair Trade Day, just getting to hang out and talk to everyone (especially Nisha from Henna Arts) was great.

Looking back upon this insane semester, this internship was one of the best parts. It was a perfect platform for me to get experience I needed in a nurturing environment. It was also a place where my ideas were valued. I met some of the most genuine people. Interning with Ten Thousand Villages was truly a blessing, and even as I move on to other things, this place… this experience, will always be special.

Until next time,
Bernie

One door closes…

…and another opens.  It is sad to say, but the time has arrived for us to say goodbye to our Marketing and Social Media interns.  However, despite our sadness at letting them go, we are so excited for their future endeavors and to work with our new intern in the summer!

Alyssa bids us farewell after nearly a year working as our Social Media Intern.  We are sad to lose her, but alas we must as she will be heading to Uruguay to study for the Fall semester!  Alyssa started at Ten Thousand Villages almost two years ago as a volunteer during her freshman year just down the road at St. Edward’s University.  She is studying Sociology and Spanish.

During her time here, Alyssa produced several videos, wrote about 20 blog posts, and scheduled countless facebook posts and tweets.  She also helped to organize and promote several events, such as One Reason Why and International Women’s Week. She also coordinated several online and in-store competitions–her favorite competition was the Favorite Things Competition.  Her final project has been to create a three part Social Media Report with information on our progress and ideas for the future on Facebook, WordPress, and Twitter.

Volunteer Coordinator, Alice May Berthelsen, says that “Alyssa has certainly taken our Social Media efforts ‘to the next level’ and has created a wonderful platform for us to use in our future endeavors… and that’s no small feat!”

Bernie leaves us after working hard for a semester as our Marketing Intern.  She will be returning home for the summer to work and, of course, continue photography.  Bernie also attends St. Edward’s University and is studying Photography and Communications.

While with us, Bernie has helped us develop marketing strategies for e-mail and for events such as World Fair Trade Day.  She also created the adorable scrapbook you might have seen in the store documenting Kitty’s adventures through India.

As Store Manager, Kitty Bird, says:

“I really enjoyed Bernie’s passion and excitement–it was easy to see how dedicated she was to the cause.  She always came to the store with great ideas and ready to work.”

 We look forward to seeing all the wonderful things Bernie will do with her life–don’t forget about us when you are a famous band promoter/photographer!

The Social Media Internship and the Marketing Internship will be combined after this semester to create one super awesome position–the Communications Internship.  This position will be filled by Baillee for the summer.  NOTE: keep posted for a blog post introducing Baillee, a super fun and quirky girl and also a St. Edward’s student (where y’all at, UT students?!)   However, the Communications Internship as well as the Education Internship will be available for the Fall semesters.  If you are interested, read below for more information on these two positions. If you’re not interested, then use the extra time to go sign-up for our Fair Trade Challenge!

COMMUNICATIONS INTERNSHIP:

Role: Maintain Facebook and Twitter accounts, assist with planning and strategizing our major events, send out store/ product related emails to customer base, write occasional blog posts, assemble calendar for blog post and major events, and create signage to display around the store advertising new items, sale items, etc. Engage with customer base on sales floor, be an assertive advocate for Ten Thousand Villages of Austin in networking with other organizations, and nurture and poster partnerships with other organizations.

Skills needed: email marketing/ social media, customer service, fundraising, assertive work style. Graphic design a plus!

EDUCATION INTERNSHIP:

Role: Assist the Volunteer Coordinator and the Education Group in training and educating volunteers, customers, and the Austin Community about Fair Trade

Skills needed: Passion for the learning process, enjoy engaging in meaningful discussions with others, and drive to learn more about Fair Trade.

Interested? Email Alice May at volunteers.austin@tenthousandvillages.com

New Marketing Intern

Welcome aboard to our new Marketing intern, Bernie!

Bernie is joining us during her fourth semester at St. Edward’s University just up the road on South Congress. She is a music lover and self-proclaimed “film nerd”.  She also has a passion and talent for photography and writing that she will be sharing with us during her time here at Ten Thousand Villages of Austin-keep an eye out for these awesome skills in our upcoming blogs!

One of her favorite hobbies is going to shows and taking pictures…

                                 

During her time here, Bernie’s main tasks will be promoting Ten Thousand Villages offsite sales and events and developing an e-mail marketing strategy.

We are sure that her fun-loving spirit will fit right in here at Ten Thousand Villages, and we are so excited to work with her over the next few months!

Human Trafficking and Fair Trade

Many people do not realize the simple act of buying fair trade helps to combat the world wide problem of human trafficking. Although Human Trafficking Awareness Day, which took place on January 11^th, has already passed, we of course did not let this memorable day pass us by.  In consideration of this day, we are exploring the relationship between fair trade and slave free supply chains that reduce the demand for trafficked labor.

The United States government considers human trafficking to include all of the criminal conduct involved in forced labor and sex trafficking, essentially the conduct involved in reducing or holding someone in compelled service. This act of modern slavery can take multiple forms; including forced labor, sex trafficking, bonded labor, involuntary domestic servitude, forced child labor, and child soldiers. Victims of trafficking are often mislead into taking jobs that appear to be legitimate or sold into a trade by someone they know. More than 33,000 victims of trafficking were identified in 2010, but the actual number of victims is estimated to be in the millions. Hundreds of thousands of trafficked persons are transported in the United States each year.

The U.S. Department of Labor has identified numerous goods produced by child or forced labor around the world; including cotton, textiles, silver, gold, ceramics, cocoa, coffee, and tea. One of the easiest ways to fight against these forms of human trafficking is to buy fair trade certified products. When a person buys fair trade, they are buying products priced in a way that ensures workers are fairly compensated for the time, labor, and materials needed to make the good. When a worker receives a fair wage they can buy food, clothing, and shelter and improve their quality of life.

Volunteers and customers alike—remember that your time and purchases at Ten Thousand Villages helps to promote fair trade while also reducing the demand for trafficked labor around the world!

-Meredith Melecki, Ten Thousand Villages Board of Directors Secretary

A Look Back

Our State of the Austin Village Address  is taking place THIS Sunday, October 2 6-7  pm in the store!  This meeting is an opportunity for staff, volunteers, board members, and customers to come together and discuss the progress the store has made in the past year and look forward to great successes to come.  In honor of this event, here is  a look back at some great memories that we made together from 2010-2011.

First off, lets journey back to our great Holiday celebrations from…

Valentine’s Day 2010, to…

Holidayss 2010.  This is always a wonderful time as the store fills with both customers and beautiful items unique to these  times of the year.  This past season was particularly special as we ventured out into Barton Creek Mall and tried out selling from a mall kiosk, which was certainly an interesting experiment in many ways! Most importantly, it was also a wonderful opportunity for us to get the word out about fair trade to many people who were completely foreign to the concept.

     

Another wonderful holiday celebrated here at Ten Thousand Villages of Austin was International Women’s Day, celebrated in March 2011.  Above we have the finalists at our International Women’s Day Award Ceremony. The categories for this award included: Humanitarianism, Environmentalism, and Animal Advocacy.

Another important holiday celebrated this past year at our store is one not many may know about, but surely quite a few would love it if they were to learn of its existence: World Chocolate Day…

This holiday, which takes place in September, was celebrated at our store with a competition between our volunteers. They each brought in their favorite fair trade chocolate recipe, and customers voted on their favorites.  Ganache, anyone?!

Although holidays provided for great times in the store, we didn’t limit ourselves to just those designated days of celebrations! Here is a look at some of our Special Events from this past year…

Here we have our lovely ladies of the One Reason Why Planning Committee.  One Reason Why was a fundraiser put on at The Gallery Black Lagood where we auctioned off some of our most impressive pieces.  2011 was our first year to have this fundraiser, and it was a huge success… We raised $5,000! Our 2nd Annual One Reason Why Fundraiser is coming up on October 27th… check out our website for more deets!

Courtesy of Tolly Moseley's Blog, Austin Eavesdropper

Courtesy of Tolly Moseley's Blog, Austin Eavesdropper

What a better way to celebrate World Fair Trade Day than with a Fair Trade Wine and Chocolate Pairing led by a professional sommelier? A HUGE thanks to Artworks Gallery for hosting us AND to Tolly Moseley from Austin Eavesdropper for the wonderful post she wrote putting our event on the map. We had a wonderful turn out and definitely hope to continue the fun next May!

Of course, we couldn’t celebrate World Fair Trade Day in May with just ONE event… we had to have 2! For our Annual Fair Trade Film Festival, we had a “Global Market” complete with music (i.e. the GREAT band picture above, Wino Vino), great vendors, and fun activities.  We also showed documentaries that promote fair trade values, and had a panel of experts to engage festival participants in a dialogue between each movie. It was an incredibly enriching educational event– thanks to all who participated!

And last but not least, we can’t forget about the activities of our wonderful staff and volunteers! A VERY important day from last year was Inventory Day…

For Inventory Day, we shut down the store for a day and COUNTED like there was no tomorrow! Inventory Day 2011 = mission possible!

Although our volunteers and staff clearly know how to work hard, they can definitely play hard too! This was evidenced by our monthly social hours to some great places like Doc’s, Boticelli’s, Sno-Beach Hawaiian Shaved Ice, and Third Coast Coffee to name a few!

So as we can see, 2010-2011 was a FANTASTIC year here at Ten Thousand Villages of Austin, and we hope for an even better year to come!  To hear more about our wonderful year passed, and our great year to come, don’t forget to attend our Annual Meeting Sunday, October 2 6-7 PM in the store.  Hope to see you there!

(Written by Alyssa Haney, Ten Thousand Villages of Austin’s Social Media Intern)

Fair Trade Film Festival 2011

“TTV Volunteers Show Support, But Still Need More!”

A HUGE thanks to everyone who has already donated and contacted Alice May about volunteering at the Film Fest!

We still need at least 22 more volunteers and have $5,700 to go for donations.

With your help, we can get there!  If you would like to donate, check out our donation packages!)

“Film Fest Makes Friends With Social Media!”

Are you on Facebook? Check out the event invitation page and be sure to invite all of your friends.

Word of mouth will be a huge key to the success of this event!

For those of you on Twitter, the event has it’s own account!

Follow @FT_FilmFest for minute-to-minute updates on what’s going on with the event.

Volunteers, We Love You!

It’s Volunteer Appreciation Week, and we thought that it would only be appropriate to dedicate a whole blog post to brag about how amazing our volunteers are! Take a peak at what our staff had to say about them– it won’t take long to realize how fabulous our Volunteer Team is!

“Volunteers are one of the best things about our Austin store. I knew very few people when I moved here back in 2004 and then I started working at Ten Thousand Villages. Within a month I gained almost 80 new friends! Creatives, academics, musicians, artists, travelers, and just plain good people of all walks of life. As a testimony to our volunteer program and how fun and rewarding it is to volunteer with us, most of these friends are still working shifts in the store! I can’t wait to see how our volunteer program will grow as our network continues to grow stronger!”- Kitty, Store Manager

“When I think about how much our volunteers mean to me, I feel an exuberant amount of joy that is very hard to contain! When a volunteer signs up for a shift (or better yet covers a yellow shift!), I literally clap my hands and whisper a silent “Yay!” in front of my computer. Seriously, ya’ll have no idea how much of a difference signing up for ONE shift can make! The part that I love the most about my job is that no day is EVER the same. Our volunteers inspire me in new ways all the time and challenge me to not just be a better Volunteer Coordinator, but a better person. I learn from each and every one of you, and I can only hope that we are able to do the same!”- Alice May, Volunteer Coordinator

“I don’t know what I’d do without our great volunteers! What I love about the volunteers is that every one of them is so unique and has their own special talents. With a group this big to help out there is always a different dynamic depending on who is going to help me that night. I’ll check the evening’s schedule and depending on who is volunteering, I’ll say to myself, “We’ll get those wallhangings up today!” or “Great! We’ll get that report worked on!” or “I can’t wait to hear what crazy stories she’ll have about her school kids!” or “I can’t wait to see what her hair color will be today!” or “Thank goodness! He can fix the computer!” Okay, okay… I think you get the hint Bottom line, we couldn’t do it without you!”- Becky, Countess

“I have found that working with others encourages me to do my best, whatever the task or project may be. My skills are sharpened by thinking through how to pass on various information and ideas. Our volunteers bring many skills and so much creativity and I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about the lives and backgrounds of our volunteers as well as what brought us all to this place we call Ten Thousand Villages of Austin!”- Christa, Administrative Assistant