Ten Thousand VillagesTen Thousand VillagesCarolyn Phillips, volunteer
The Ten Thousand Villages non-profit, fair trade store that is an international marketplace has been in Rice Village since 2000. Christ the King Church member Carolyn Phillips has been a volunteer for the last 5+ years and a Board Member and Chair of Facilities Support for 4 years. She really enjoys working in the store (which is staffed by 2 ½ paid staff and lots of volunteers). Ten Thousand Village stores are affiliated with the Mennonite Central Committee and are a part of their quiet worldwide outreach and relief services. They seek out artisan groups in underdeveloped countries (currently 30), provide fair prices for the handicrafts produced, and help them develop new and better products with local materials that are environmentally safe and even recycled materials. The artisans receive a percentage of the price up front and the rest on delivery and there are no middle men.
Carolyn says that she is especially drawn to the work as about 75% of the artisans are women. The money they earn usually goes to feed and clothe their children so they can attend school. Several of the artisan co-ops themselves provide funds to create or support local schools. An expression heard from several artisans that Carolyn has had the privilege to meet has been, “The sustainable income from Ten Thousands Villages allows my family to live in dignity”. To Carolyn that says it all – a little time and effort from us in Houston and elsewhere helps people working around the world maintain a family unit and lets them focus more on education.