Ten Thousand Villages Store Opens Nov. 9

released: 11/5/2009

     

Ten Thousand Villages, one of the world’s oldest fair trade organizations, will return to West Virginia Wesleyan November 9 through 19. This is the fourth consecutive year Wesleyan has raised funds for artisans in countries throughout the world. The sale will feature even more items than in previous years.

Handcrafted products such as baskets, scarves, jewelry, holiday items, vases, bags, children’s items, kites, music, coffee, children’s books, instruments, and many more household items will be on sale in the Benedum Campus Center Game Room. The store will be open from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 1 until 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday.

Ten Thousand Villages is sponsored by the Mennonite Central Committee, a relief and peace agency of the North American Mennonite and Brethren in Christ Churches. The nonprofit organization markets handcrafted products for more than 130 artisan groups in 38 countries. Ten Thousand Villages has spent more than 60 years cultivating long-term buying relationships in which artisans receive a fair price for their work. The Wesleyan project is coordinated by Danielle Mullins, a sophomore international studies major and Corella and Bertram F. Bonner Scholar from Gerrardstown. Several campus organizations will provide volunteers to operate the store throughout the month.

“Ten Thousand Villages is a wonderful opportunity for people around the Buckhannon community to experience and take home a piece of another culture,” noted Mullins. “Our sale items come from countries all over Asia, Africa, and Latin America and are unlike any items that shoppers can find in area stores.”

For more information about the Wesleyan Ten Thousand Villages project, contact Mullins at mullins_dr@wvwc.edu.