Archive for the 'Coffee' Category

The backs have been slapped in congratulations, the hugs of accomplishment exchanged, the coffee mugs rinsed, the crafts packed up, and the soup refrigerated for another day. Such is the satisfying aftermath of a World Fair Trade Day event.

Yesterday I was fortunate to be with the good folks at San Diego Friends of Fair […]

Read the entry: Reaching Across the World →

During the opening ceremony of the 2008 SCAA in Minneapolis, MN, Bill Fishbein, owner of CRS coffee partner Coffee Exchange and founder of Coffee Kids, made a presentation on the 20th anniversary of Coffee Kids, an organization which helps coffee-growing families improve the quality of their lives. He made the simple but challenging statement that […]

Read the entry: Specialty Coffee’s Return to Its Roots →

Part of my Sunday morning routine is listening to the Speaking of Faith public radio program. Yesterday I was especially pleased that the guest was Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize winner who started the Green Belt Movement. The movement began by organizing women who were living the impacts of deforestation through the […]

Read the entry: Planting the Future →

That’s the slogan for this year’s World Fair Trade Day. As a proud sponsor of World Fair Trade Day here in the United States, CRS Fair Trade is proud to support the activities large and small to make the world a bit fairer through participating in economic justice activities.
On the fun side, we are […]

Read the entry: Isn’t it Time We Made the World Fair? →

Some of my colleagues groaned when they heard the “stomach and soul” title of my talk at the National Catholic Educators Association meeting today in Indianapolis. As regular blog readers know, I try to think of “catchy” titles to attract your attention, and the same principle holds true for workshops I give. Here […]

Read the entry: Fair Trade for the Stomach and the Soul →

Although as a member of the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, I don’t celebrate Palm Sunday as a holy day, I am definitely paying tribute to the ecumenical cooperation manifested through support of Eco-palms, an initiative of Lutheran World Relief. Media outlets, too, are reporting that congregations of several Christian faiths are utilizing these […]

Read the entry: Putting our Heads Together →

Katy and I just finished up with the annual Catholic Social Ministry Gathering, a time each February when about 500 folks from a variety of Catholic organizations arrive in Washington, D.C. to learn about each other’s work and strategize for policies and programs that “Put the Poor and Vulnerable First” and “Pursue Peace in a […]

Read the entry: A Tsunami a Week →

A few years back I managed an AmeriCorps program and remember that the national service motto for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday was “Make it a day ON not a day off.” The idea was to encourage folks to do volunteer work in honor of Dr. King’s legacy instead of just hanging out on […]

Read the entry: Traveling South for the King Holiday →

So often we receive great questions in our inboxes that are blog-worthy. This question appears every so often, but with this one I was reminded of the significance of the Fair Trade labels we see everyday, as well as the purpose of all the regulations and processes behind them. Now that I reread the email […]

Read the entry: Providing the Fair Trade Proof →

As the year draws to a close and everyone starts thinking about the new and wonderful things they plan to accomplish for 2008, I think it’s important to remember the wonderful things accomplished in the past. So much of what we’re able to accomplish through the CRS Fair Trade program is with the help of […]

Read the entry: Coffee Partners Make the News- how good companies do good business →