FACE TO FACE WITH WILMA
A Look at the Impact We Can Achieve with our Gift Choices
For this newsletter's lead article we follow the storyline of impact created by a simple decision. A small decision that didn't take much time for one person however substantially improved the life of another and her entire family.
It all began with a large financial services client who was planning a fall conference for their associates. Like many of us, they wanted to give something to them that would have meaning and be useful. They began chatting with us about a gift for their requirements and after the usual evaluation process - chat - see sample - get a quotation - they decided to proceed with the Cambiar Portfolios from our team in Guatemala.
Now here's where the story deviates from the norm in a really powerful way. This order went to a small business is Guatemala lead by Rudy and Sully Rojas. They were then able to employ Wilma among others to make the portfolios for the client.
This is where the client's choice gets personal - Wilma opens her eyes every morning just like us when she wakes up. | Wilma & Antonio's Home
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She gets up and begins to face her day...just like us. Except her day looks very different than ours. Wilma and her husband Antonio have 6 children the youngest of which Ashley, is deaf/blind and mute and was born with epilepsy. Antonio was injured in an industrial accident and is mostly unable to work. There home (see the picture), has been washed out 2 times in the past 6 months. There is very little employment opportunity in Lake Amatilàn where they live. I'd dare say if our days looked like that we might hesitate to get up.
But the day after Rudy and Sully received the order Wilma opened her eyes in the morning with a sense of hope that she normally doesn't experience because she was off to the technical centre to make some portfolios! Her paycheck for the job she performed helped to provide for her family in a very significant way.
And what of the gift? We were told that everyone who received it loved it because it was a very nice and unique gift and it came along with the story of how it was made giving it extra meaning.
So a small decision involving money that was going to be spent anyway and a uniform decision making process, all added up to a very substantial impact on real people's lives where there is little room for hope.
This client preferred to remain unnamed; the story after all is about Wilma. However Wilma, Rudy, Sully and the whole team say thank you very much!!
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Lots of Gifts and Promotional Items that Can Help us End Poverty
Well speaking of busy, we are too! So much so that our website is lagging behind and is in need of an update. The good news is that it should be up to date with all of our new offerings by late November.
In the meantime, if you have an upcoming requirement and would like to consider sourcing from one of our global teams, you can download our catalogue.
Thanks for your patience with our website and your ongoing support!
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Launching the ZOË Challenge - Think 1:1:1!
Ever thought about why you bother sorting the garbage into 4 different types weekly? We think it's for three reasons:
- First you think it's a good idea.
- Second you care about the environment and you want to help.
- And Third and very importantly - somebody gave you green & blue bins and they pick it up for you
In essence you were given the tools that make it easy for you to do what you wanted to do - help the environment by recycling.
On Wednesday, October 20th at our event hosted by Gowlings, Lafleur Henderson at First Canadian Place, ZOË Alliance launched our ZOË Challenge by inviting corporations to join us in harnessing 10% of North Americans spend on gifts, promotional items and donations to generate $89 billion dollars in job creating, sustainable aid by thinking 1:1:1:
One Event: - Choose one event each year where gift
spending reflects approximately 10% of what is spent
on overall gifts;
One Approval - Get executive approval to buy items
produced in accordance with fair trade principles for this
event's gifts from a reputable vendor;
One Time a Year - Repeat every year - make this a part of annual CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) plan.
It's a little bit like green and blue bins. Even if it takes a large corporation 6 months to get this idea in place, once you have done this it will become a routine and the impact will be enormous as more and more organizations join the movement and take the challenge.
Watch the video challenge, check out our press release, and join us...it's money we are all going to spend anyway and the impact will ripple through the villages for generations!!
Links:
ZOË Challenge Video (I Can Do That!)
Press Release (Think 1:1:1)
Interview with Chris Chopik of Evolution Green
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Recent Blog Posts
Have you been following the ZOË weekly blogs? It's a great way to keep in touch with the current activities of both ZOE Alliance and our founder, Angie.
Here are a couple of her more recent blogs that we think you would enjoy: Do We Need Big Business at the Table (Oct 5), Great News - Medical Clinic Underway in India (Oct 26).
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Who is ZOË Alliance?
ZOË Alliance Inc. is a social enterprise that harnesses what we spend to help developing nations break the cycle of poverty.
ZOË Alliance helps people and companies transform impoverished
villages with their regular purchases. We stretch each dollar spent on
a personal or corporate gift three ways: to purchase a gift that tells
the story of hope; to create jobs with dignity in villages; and to
donate funds toward a school or village project.
We also help companies link their Corporate Social Responsibility
initiatives to the bottom line by making it easy to source high
quality, profitable products from producer groups in villages around
the globe.
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Contact Us
ZOË Alliance Inc.
15-75 Bayly Street West, Suite 279,Ajax, ON Canada L1S 7K7
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