Contact: Nicole Poston nlposton@kent.edu

January 7, 2003

Happy New Year! Thank you for the packet of info. I have distributed it to our group, CHANGE, a Kent State University student organization. This year we are committed to getting fair trade coffee on campus. It is slow going and we are a small group.

Right now we are in the process of making a workshop and are starting by educating people. The woman who makes the decisions about what coffee to supply to campus has said that she doesn't think students are interested in fair trade coffee because she hasn't heard from them about it. We have decided that we need to educate people so that they will care and express their desire to have fair trade and then when we ask for it, she will believe it is important.

I would like to know more about bringing a speaker here to KSU in Ohio. How much is it, how soon do we need to schedule, etc. I am also wondering if you have stickers available to pass out to people at our workshops advertising fair trade coffe so that each person could leave with one to put on their travel mug.

In my organization that I work for on campus, a Christian Fellowship we are committed to only serve fair trade coffee. This past semester we spent time each week educating our group on what fair trade is and we sold some fair trade crafts and coffee from El Salvador before Christmas. We are encouraging students to fill out comment cards at local cafes, on campus and grocery stores asking for fair trade coffee options. I attend and work with CHANGE, the student organization and we are working on this campaign specifically on campus, which is taking a long time to get going. These are my activities locally. For part of my job I take students to Honduras and to the Border of US and Mexico for service/ mostly learning types of experiences. Part of this time is dedicated to the fair trade issue and trying to learn about alternative lifestyles and business styles available. I would enjoy being connected with others doing this kind of work.

Thank you for your work. Any info or help will be appreciated. Peace,