Trade As One

This weekend we’re going to be a part of an amazing event in Cincinnati called Unbound. It’s getting some cool press (check it out here) because it’s led by students. The event has its roots in a trip to Haiti, where one of the students saw the horrors of human slavery firsthand, and returned home with a passion to expose one of the world’s darkest secrets: that 27 million of trapped in slavery.
Trade as One will be there to talk about how the money we spend here in America directly affects those 27 million people. We’ll be featuring Hagar, Nightlight, Divine Chocolate, and Handmade Expressions and the work they do on this issue. If you’re in the Cincinnati area this weekend, come see us!

Last week I was in Phoenix meeting with a church about the possibility of partnering with them this coming Christmas season. It was a great trip by any account, fantastic people at the church, warm weather, I got some great Thai food, etc. But what stood out to me more than anything else was a conversation I had with my cab driver on the way to the church.
His name is Mike, and he’s only been a cab driver for about three weeks. He’s recently had to shut down his own business, and he’s driving a cab to make ends meet until he can launch his business again.
He then asked me what I do for a living, and I talked a bit about Trade as One. He practically cut me off to say, “Well, I’m sure as much as we’re hurting here, they’re hurting so much more over there. I sure hope that in the midst of all of this, we don’t forget that there are people a whole lot worse off than us. What can I do?”
I was struck by his compassion and sincerity. It’s people like Mike who have helped us grow like crazy despite this economy, and it’ll be people like Mike who continue to use their (reduced) spending power to make the world a bit more fair while we get out of this mess.

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