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10 years in 10 minutes……
As Holme Valley Fairtrade celebrated their 10th Birthday Party on 16th June our longest serving member and our newest member spoke to the party goers! This is what they said:
“In 2004 the group formed with the suggestion for people to get together to understand Fairtrade – members of the community, council leaders, churches and businesses were invited to be part of it, and Fairtrade status was eventually awarded in 2006 with the then MP Kali Mountford part of the certificate presentation.
Over the last 10 years we have organised so many exciting events to promote Fairtrade – fashion shows, Fairtrade speaker, bunting across the river, a tropical tea party to mention a few!
We have talked to schools and community groups, and held stalls selling Fairtrade products at events and markets. We have supported community events and festivals in Holmfirth.
Members of Holme Valley Fairtrade led fundraising to establish The Fairtraders Cooperative – all four of the founding board members were from Holme Valley Fairtrade.
Two members of Holme Valley Fairtrade have set up fairandfunky, a Community Interest Company with Fairtrade at its core.
We have lobbyed MPs and worked closely with Jason McCartney MP to set up the All Party Parliamentary Group for Fairtrade.
But, where do we go from here? We hope to go from strength to strength particularly as we have a new generation of enthusiasts at Honley High School and Meltham Primary School!
Finally, two important points……
A thank you to all those who have supported our group over the years – individuals, businesses and community groups – but especially our officers over the years, and particularly Gerard Hetherington and Helen Robinson.
And most important of all we need to remember why we are doing this. Yes, it’s fun. Yes, the products are superb. But remember the farmers. Every time you buy a Fairtrade product you are supporting a family and their community who are struggling through no fault of their own. This is not a charity it is a vehicle to support people who work their way out of poverty.”
Peter Beetlestone – founding member of Holme Valley Fairtrade
“I am the newest active member of the Fairtrade forum. I’m here today to tell you why I got involved in Fairtrade. I joined Fairtrade in order to make a difference and make everything fair. I understand that I alone can’t make a large difference but hopefully I can help raise awareness for Fairtrade and bring us new members with my burning good looks.
The reasons I joined the forum is when it originally started I was planning on joining the forum but with having the hard life of a 13 year old it slipped under the radar. They recently they went to Parliament and presented an assembly on it then suddenly I remembered I was supposed to join it. It dawned on me that I’d missed most of the year of Fairtrade so I signed up right there and then and tried to be as proactive as I could.
Also it was basically all Jack called about and it was getting annoying not knowing what it was. It’s great for us to be part of Holme Valley Fairtrade because it makes us stronger as part of the community.”
Nyall – newest member of Holme Valley Fairtrade
Here’s to the next 10 years!
As Holme Valley Fairtrade celebrated their 10th Birthday Party on 16th June our longest serving member and our newest member spoke to the party goers! This is what they said:
“In 2004 the group formed with the suggestion for people to get together to understand Fairtrade – members of the community, council leaders, churches and businesses were invited to be part of it, and Fairtrade status was eventually awarded in 2006 with the then MP Kali Mountford part of the certificate presentation.
Over the last 10 years we have organised so many exciting events to promote Fairtrade – fashion shows, Fairtrade speaker, bunting across the river, a tropical tea party to mention a few!
We have talked to schools and community groups, and held stalls selling Fairtrade products at events and markets. We have supported community events and festivals in Holmfirth.
Members of Holme Valley Fairtrade led fundraising to establish The Fairtraders Cooperative – all four of the founding board members were from Holme Valley Fairtrade.
Two members of Holme Valley Fairtrade have set up fairandfunky, a Community Interest Company with Fairtrade at its core.
We have lobbyed MPs and worked closely with Jason McCartney MP to set up the All Party Parliamentary Group for Fairtrade.
But, where do we go from here? We hope to go from strength to strength particularly as we have a new generation of enthusiasts at Honley High School and Meltham Primary School!
Finally, two important points……
A thank you to all those who have supported our group over the years – individuals, businesses and community groups – but especially our officers over the years, and particularly Gerard Hetherington and Helen Robinson.
And most important of all we need to remember why we are doing this. Yes, it’s fun. Yes, the products are superb. But remember the farmers. Every time you buy a Fairtrade product you are supporting a family and their community who are struggling through no fault of their own. This is not a charity it is a vehicle to support people who work their way out of poverty.”
Peter Beetlestone – founding member of Holme Valley Fairtrade
“I am the newest active member of the Fairtrade forum. I’m here today to tell you why I got involved in Fairtrade. I joined Fairtrade in order to make a difference and make everything fair. I understand that I alone can’t make a large difference but hopefully I can help raise awareness for Fairtrade and bring us new members with my burning good looks.
The reasons I joined the forum is when it originally started I was planning on joining the forum but with having the hard life of a 13 year old it slipped under the radar. They recently they went to Parliament and presented an assembly on it then suddenly I remembered I was supposed to join it. It dawned on me that I’d missed most of the year of Fairtrade so I signed up right there and then and tried to be as proactive as I could.
Also it was basically all Jack called about and it was getting annoying not knowing what it was. It’s great for us to be part of Holme Valley Fairtrade because it makes us stronger as part of the community.”
Nyall – newest member of Holme Valley Fairtrade
Here’s to the next 10 years!
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