Menlo Park Presbyterian Church Launches FAIR TRADE Marketplace

Sales benefit people in developing world, using skills to work their way out of poverty

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--"It’s a first for us,” said Jim Candy, a Menlo Park Presbyterian Church pastor. “This church has never launched a store before, but this opportunity has so many positive aspects, we had to go for it,” said Candy.

“When people buy our products, they’ll be partnering with the poor, helping to empower them to make a difference in their needy communities”

FAIR TRADE Marketplace (mppc.org/fairtradestore), a pop-up store at 846 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park, opened Monday, Dec. 5, selling handcrafted products from developing countries. Church volunteers will staff it 10-6 daily through Dec. 24.

“We’re trying to accomplish several things with the store,” said Candy. “We want to give people an easy way to provide hope and dignity for the poor. We’re also eager to encourage foot traffic downtown, of course. And, we want to create a place where congregants can serve outside the church walls,” Candy said.

Shoppers will find unique products from many countries. Each one tells a story of individuals striving to overcome poverty, sex trafficking, HIV-AIDS or political conflict.

● Clothing and jewelry created by female artisans in Guatemala, many their families’ only wage earners, since most construction jobs have disappeared

● Wastebaskets and several types of bags made from non-recyclable plastics bought from trash-picking communities in Jakarta

● Sculptures and jewelry, created with discarded aluminum, copper and glass, by rehabilitated gang members, street boys and ex-prostitutes, in Nairobi’s Haruma slums

● Bags sewn by Cambodian women rescued from or vulnerable to sex trafficking

● Jewelry produced by women learning to support themselves and their children after escaping Thailand’s sex industry

● Beaded bowls formed in Kenya’s Dagoretti slums by children, whose mother died from AIDS contracted from her unfaithful husband, who also died of AIDS

● Wooden bowls and salad servers made in Kenya to buy school uniforms and haircuts for 208 orphans

“When people buy our products, they’ll be partnering with the poor, helping to empower them to make a difference in their needy communities,” said Robin Simpson, store manager. “Our congregation is passionate about this project, and many volunteers have emerged to run the store,” Simpson said.