A group of Pennsylvania College of Technology students helped to raise more than $3,100 for the working poor through a recent fair-trade craft sale.To open the holiday shopping season, students pursuing bachelor's degrees in applied human services organized and staffed an on-campus sale of handmade goods from around the world through an organization called Ten Thousand Villages.
Ten Thousand Villages one of the world's oldest fair-trade organizations works with more than 100 artisan groups in more than 30 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Fair trade enables the artisans to earn a fair wage and provides the opportunity for a better quality of life.
The students also volunteered for a day at a Ten Thousand Villages warehouse in Lancaster County. The organization relies mainly on volunteer staff in order to return more profit to the crafters.
Participating students were enrolled in the course "Community and Organizational Change," taught by LaRue R. Reese, assistant professor of human services/sociology. The class helps students develop the skills to recognize existing and emergent human needs and to plan successful community and organizational responses to those needs.
For more information about human services majors and other academic programs offered by the School of Integrated Studies at Penn College, visit online or call (570) 327-4521. For more information about Penn College, visit on the Web, e-mail or call toll-free (800) 367-9222.