Our most recent event was Fairtrade Fortnight which took place before the lockdown at the library and we were able to have a display for the duration plus our third popular family fun day. We had a steady stream of families and children throughout the day. We had a selection of fair-trade themed games and activities, a chocolate fountain, a raffle and tombola and we were serving fair-trade refreshments from the old cafe area which were really popular.
The event was opened by Louise (centre front in the group photo) who was one of many children who helped run the event, including several from Trimley St Mary Primary School.
The purpose of the fun day was to educate as well as entertain. This year the focus was on women cocoa farmers, showing how fairtrade has helped them by giving them a secure source of income and fair prices for their produce.
The children we spoke to at the fun day and at talks given to school assemblies beforehand showed a high level of awareness of fairtrade which we were really pleased about.
The primary purpose of the event was not to raise money but we did make a profit of £110 which is being shared with the Friends of Felixstowe Library who helped organise the event.
The large group photo is poignant because it shows our founding chairman, Peter Dawes (second from right at the back) who died of a heart attack shortly afterwards. We were able to see his funeral online. Alan Muchal, our current chairman, says of Peter “He was a source of inspiration for us all as well as being thoroughly nice person. He supervised the popular ‘roll a penny’ game (pictured) though typically he stayed out of the picture himself.”
Obviously we cannot organise any fairtrade stalls or coffee mornings at the moment so it may be a while before we are able to wave the flag for fairtrade at events. We are therefore very grateful to Felixstowe Magazine for including this information which people can see during this time.
Further information about the Forum and our activities locally can be found on our website: www.felixstowe-fairtrade.org.uk
Jenny Brabazon
Felixstowe Fairtrade Forum writes:
