33rd Annual International Gift Sale Thursday Through Saturday At Filer Mennonite Church

You have to love any event where buying stuff actually helps do good for families. This is what will happen at the 33rd Annual International Gift Sale at the Filer Mennonite Church. Here is some info about this event from a press release.

33rd Annual International Gift Sale: a fair trade event offering handcrafted items from artisans who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed will be held at Filer Mennonite Church (109 5^th Street, Filer) Oct 20-21-22  (Thursday and Friday 9 am to 8 pm and Saturday 9 am to 5 pm).  Your purchase at the International Gift Sale will help these individuals provide food, shelter, education and health care for their families.  Artisans have already received payment for the handicrafts. 

The organization that is now Ten Thousand Villages began with one woman, Edna Ruth Byler, when she purchased beautiful needlework from  women in Puerto Rico who were living in poverty.  She took it to her home in Pennsylvania and she sold it to people she knew.  Soon Byler developed a collection of pieces from different countries to sell. Eventually MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) became involved with Edna Ruth in developing the very first fair trade organization.  They called it SelfHelp Crafts of the World though it was later renamed Ten Thousand Villages.

If you would like more information about this ministry, you can check out the Ten Thousand Villages website.

Note: This is not a fundraiser for the Filer Mennonite Church. Expenses of hosting this event are paid by proceeds from “THE PANTRY” featuring locally made breads, cookies and pies during the event.