Jessica Chittaphong's Summer Internship

When I first got the news that I was to be working with Gifts and Graces, I was a senior finishing up college. It was such an exciting opportunity and I was honored to be chosen from a large pool of candidates. I was extremely nervous because I felt inexperienced, but because of the tremendous support from my school and from Greg I decided to just jump in and do the best I can. There were two main activities that I was charged with. The first was focused on the incorporation and advocacy of fair trade within the organization and in the Philippines. It was exciting because I learned so much and I met so many people who are doing wonderful things for their communities. The second part of my assignment was to try and calculate something called the Social Returns on Investments for Gifts and Graces. Like many people this was my first time hearing of the term. It is a ratio that tries to estimate per peso invested how much social good was generated. Before I left for the Philippines I tried to read everything I could find about it. I hit so many walls and was discouraged many times, but I pushed through and came up with an acceptable estimate in the end. I knew it would not be 100 percent accurate, but I was ecstatic none the less because I had created a useful tool that would help Gifts and Graces in the future.

I feel that my time in the Philippines was the perfect way to finish this chapter in my life. I had graduated from university with good overall book knowledge, but I was still lacking in real life experience. I am forever thankful for the staff at Gifts and Graces for showing me a glimpse of Filipino society and making my stay unforgettable with their generosity and quirky personalities. As I begin a new chapter in my life at the London School of Economics, I know I enter it as prepared as possible.

All the best,

Jessica Chittaphong

Visiting Hardin ng Kalikasan with volunteer Jessica Chittaphong

This year, Gifts and Graces and the University of the Pacific partnered for the university’s Global Ambassador Corps Program. Through this partnership, one of Pacific's top students Jessica Chittaphong, was selected to work with Gifts and Graces for over two months as an intern. Jessica worked on developing a fair trade scorecard, developing a template for measuring Gifts and Graces’ Social Return on Investment (SROI), and developing material on fair trade. Jessica also worked to develop a program of activities for a fair trade festival as well as a medium term plan for Gifts and Graces to build a strong community of fair trade advocates. While in the Philippines, Jessica visited Gifts and Graces communities and even helped man the booth at the Philippine Franchise Expo. Here Jessica joins the G&G team on our visit to Hardin ng Kalikasan, a group of women in Kiloloron, Quezon. Jessica is now a student at the London School of Economics taking graduate studeies. Thanks to Jessica for all the hard work and to Spencer Ton, and Jerry Hildebrand of the University of the Pacific for this innovative program that fosters learning on social entrepreneurship across the globe. The Global Amassador Corps Program integrates interdisciplinary education in the social sciences, business, internal relations, education, and many others, to the fields of social entrepreneurship and sustainable development.

Gifts and Graces monogram notecards in Rustan's

Gifts and Graces in Rustan’s Gifts and Graces’ monogram notecards are now available at the different Rustan’s branches. The beautiful off-white cards are made out of handmade paper while the dark brown letters are made out of banana bark. The gold stitching on the card gives it an elegant look. The cards come with kraft envelopes and come in sets of 6. These notecards are proudly made by the women of Hardin ng Kalikasan, a women’s cooperative in Quezon. The monogram notecards are a throwback to a time before text messages, emails, and social networking. However, we believe that a handwritten note on a beautiful card, never goes out of style. Check out our cards and add them to your list of perfect gifts for the coming Christmas season. Erratum: We apologize to Ateneo Graduate School of Business Professor Mars Balgos for misspelling his name in the last newsletter.