On October 14 at the Media Borough Council Meeting, the Media Fair Trade Committee presented its annual Fair Trade Awards. The award winners are:

SCHOOL: Media Providence Friends School

Receiving award: Holly Hoffman and Shirley Wright Kamara

Works to creatively integrate Fair Trade into many parts of their curriculum.

LOCAL: Burlap & Bean

Receiving award: Tara & Brent Endicott

Pure awesomeness in being 100% Fair Trade in their offerings of coffee, tea, and more — and 100% delightful in their coffeehouses.

INTERNATIONAL: Senda Athletics

Receiving award: Holly Hoffman and Shirley Wright Kamara

Makers of the highest quality soccer and futsal balls, sports shoes, and more made by fairly paid adults in healthy workshops and not underpaid children in sweatshops. Senda brings fun and fairness to the game!

HISTORIC: Free Produce Association of Friends

Receiving award: Christie Duncan-Tessmer, the General Secretary of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (i.e., the Quaker equivalent of the Bishop of the Philadelphia Archdiocese)

In the 1840’s, The Free Produce Society of Friends organized the sale of large quantities of cotton, sugar and other goods NOT produced with slave labor. In essence, they had the first Fair Trade stores in the world!

COMMITTEE: Zoia Pavlovskaia

Receiving award: Zoia

Zoia joined our committee several years ago when she became an adjunct professor at both Penn State Brandywine and Neumann University. Now she is full time Lecturer in Business at Penn State Brandywine. She has enhanced the Media Fair Trade Committee so much, with her ideas, know how, determination and follow through.