Gifts and Graces Fair Trade Foundation

Conversations

This month, we introduce a new segment – Conversations where we sit down with G&G's favorite people – our clients, partners, producers, directors and many others, to pick their brains or go heart-to-heart on a range of topics. To kick off the series, we start with our volunteers: wonderful, big-hearted people who have so generously given of themselves and have contributed greatly to our projects and programs.

For our maiden interview, we talked to Ms. Chiqui Escareal-Go, President and Chief Service Strategist of Mansmith and Fielders Inc., an advocacy-based marketing and sales training and consultancy company. Chiqui very graciously agreed to be one of G&G's guest lecturers/facilitators at our Lecture Series for our partner communities in 2010. Here Chiqui tells us in her own words why she volunteered, what she did with us, and what she got out of it.

G&G: Tell us your Name, Age, Nationality, Occupation

Chiqui Escareal-Go, 49, Filipino, Trainer/Facilitator, Entreprenuer

G&G: What made you decide to volunteer with Gifts and Graces?

CEG: Belief in the sincerity of the advocacy and the people behind the advocacy

G&G: As a volunteer how did you use your skills and experiences to help G&G and its advocacy?

CEG: I helped in training in the area of positive thinking particularly reframing common issues for a more proactive, 'can-do' attitude; I have continued to remain involved with G&G through donations and training. Being involved also means patronizing products and services of G&G's partners.

G&G: Why should other people do volunteer work? What did you gain from it?

CEG: Any volunteer work grounds people to the life-giving, life-affirming, and life-empowering. Meaning, as volunteers “help others” they learn to raise their personal bars in resilience, resourcefulness, courage, empathy, hope, patience, creativity and yes, even re-define their sense of happiness and self. Simply put, when a volunteer “gives,” he/she actually “gains” more in terms of psychic rewards that are definitely priceless.

Above: Chiqui conducts a Creative Appreciative Workshop - a unique, refreshing, and empowering approach to initiate positive change

Below: G&G's partners have gotten into the spirit of the workshop. Chiqui listens in on one of the groups