They're SOy Good!

At Gifts & Graces we have a variety of Soy candles to choose from. Buying your soy candles from Gifts & Graces helps the men of Pag-asa sa Paglaya Multipurpose Cooperative who have reinvented themselves as candle makers after being released from prison.


Aside from benefiting our partner community of candle-makers, did you know that soy candles are good for the environment and your health too?

G&G soy candles come in 5 beautiful scents:

vanilla, cinnamon, citronella, lavender & orange

Here are just some reasons why soy candles are a better choice than other candles:

1) They burn slower. Soy candles burn up to twice as long as parafin candles. You can savesome money by buying just one soy candle instead of 2 parafin candles.

2) They produce much less soot. You know that black smoke that comes out of regular candles? Soy candles produce only very little soot that it is unnoticeable.

3) Their scent is more potent. Soy candles' ability to make a room smell good is better and lasts longer than parafin candles. The scent that emanates from soy candles smell cleaner too!

4) They come from a renewable source. Unlike parafin that comes from crude oil, soy is a plant. Buying soy candles also help give livelihood to the soy farmers!

5) There are various health benefits! Which you can read more about here.

Switch from parafin candles to soy candles today. They're just SOy good!

*see the full range of Gifts & Graces candles HERE.

Father's Day Gift Ideas

It's Father's Day in a couple of weeks. Have you thought about what you're giving the special man in your life this year?

Here's 3 unique products from Gifts & Graces that will sure put a smile in your father's face!

FOR THE DAD ON- THE- GO

This recycled tarpaulin mail bag is durable and water-proof. It will keep your dad's hands free to do whatever his busy day entails. It also benefits our partner community in Boni, Mandaluyong!

FOR THE TRAVELLING DAD

Is your dad always going on business trips? Why not give him this recycled flour sack bag to keep his suitcase organized and clean? It's perfect for him and the environment!

FOR THE COFFEE ADDICT DAD

If your dad drinks a lot of coffee, you should buy him these coffee sleeves made of retaso fabric. That way, he won't have to waste so many of those cardboard holders each time he buys some coffee. Your dad will thank you and so will the trees you save!

We'll be posting more Father's Day gift ideas for you so keep checking back!

May 2011 newsletter

Sharing our May newsletter featuring the first year anniversary of Kultura's Crafts for a Cause which G&G is part of. You'll see some of the products we have there. Also read about the article on G&G at the BiD Challenge Marketplace and get to know one of our partner communities Pamana ng Pag-Asa and one of our producers Nanay Josefa.

We hope you enjoy reading it. Or email us at info@giftsandgraces.com to receive a larger copy of the newsletter via email. Cheers!

G&G Annual Partner's Conference

Creating a Win-win Partnership

Last April 18, 2011 Gifts and Graces held its annual partner's conference at the Philippine Daily Inquirer. The Partner's Conference is a whole day event that is a venue for G&G to dialogue with its partners, give updates, and share new learnings, all towards the objective of creating a win-win partnership. The Partner's Conference is a key component of G&G's capability building program.

Participants enjoy the Airplane game icebreaker

This year, the Partner's Conference was about creating and capturing value along the value chain. To kick off the conference, Executive Director Greg Perez shared G&G's updated mission, vision, strategic direction, and values. Greg announced that G&G would partner with organizations with expertise in capability building, just like its recent partnership with the UP College of Engineering Department of Industrial Engineering; pursue its application for certification with the World Fair Trade Organization, and enter the retail market. 

As part of its commitment to advocate fair trade and fair trade practices, G&G invited Ronald Lagazo, Country Manager of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) Philippines to make a presentation about fair trade in the Philippines. Ronald shared the principles of fair trade and the value of being fair trade certified.

Another guest speaker was Ms. Ma. Rocelyn Bernabe of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) who presented PBSP's Business Advisory Program (BAP) that G&G partners can avail of. This is in line with G&G's strategy to link its partners with capability building experts to help them improve their enterprise management skills.

 

On the learning part of the program, Darlyn Ty made a presentation on the value chain based on GTZ's value chain framework. Darlyn is the successful entrepreneur behind the Belle de Jour planners and is a long-time G&G volunteer. We at G&G believe it is important to understand the value chain to better appreciate the cooperation necessary along the chain. 

To supplement and reinforce Darlyn's presentation, AYAD Strategic and Performance Improvement Adviser Michael Golsworthy led the group in a pre-game warm-up, then the group played a value chain game designed by AIM student Anurag Goel. Anurag helped out with the partners conference as part of his walkabout project in AIM. Greg, Mike, Dar, and Anurag facilitated the game. 

The partners present had a lot of fun negotiating along the value chain. At the end of the game the participants said they better understood the concept of the value chain and they appreciated the importance of cooperating along the chain.

After the value chain game, the last part of the conference was a mini case conference where participants were asked to come up with common problems related to different parts of the value chain. Different teams were then assigned to come up with solutions for the identified problems and these were discussed with the group. The solutions the group came up with were creative and innovative and showed that even with limited resources we can find solutions to our pressing problems. 

All in all the partners conference was a success. It created a venue for greater understanding and cooperation between G&G and its partners. 

Thanks to those who attended from Alay Kapwa Tindahan, DAWN, FCED Foundation, Kaakbay, Kaibhan, Kapitbahayan Candles, Pangarap Foundation, Tahanang Walang Hagdanan, The Learning Center. Welcome to new G&G partners Caritas, Heidi's Crafts, I4SEE for Pamana Pag-asa, Nuvali, QC livelihood under the office of Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte, and Virlanie Foundation. Many thanks again to our volunteers Dar, Mike, Anurag, without whom the partner conference would not be the success that it was.

Gifts and Graces celebrates Women Power

The Empowered Women of Gifts and Graces

 

“Empowered women and girls have a truly transformative role to play in all our societies, with benefits for all.  Around the world, healthy, educated, employed, and empowered women break poverty cycles – not only for themselves, but for their families, communities, and countries too.”

- Helen Clark, administrator, U.N. Development Program             

 

 

International Women's Month, observed in March every year, honors women and their contributions to society. To celebrate women's month this year, Gifts and Graces will hold a roving exhibit from March 3 to April 1, 2011 dubbed Women Empowerment through Livelihood and Entrepreneurship that pays tribute to the women we have been privileged to meet and work with, who have dared overcome poverty through entrepreneurship. This month-long exhibit at four major SM Malls - SM MOA, SM Southmall, SM Megamall, and SM North Edsa includes an ongoing product demonstration on weekends and a chance to meet one of our remarkable women producers. 

Exhibit at SM Southmall

Visitors stop in to watch the crafts demonstration at Southmall

Exhibit at SM Mall of Asia

The exhibit showcases the stories of six wonderful women from five Gifts and Graces partner communities: Ate Zeny of Kapitbahayan, Ate Minda and Juliet from FCED Foundation, Aling Marina of Kaibhan, Ate Jenny of Alay Kapwa Tindahan, and Ate Lita of Tahanang Walang Hagdanan. Their stories of empowerment includes finding their voice and becoming leaders in their communities, being able to send their children to school, and finding pride in what they do. Intertwined in the stories of these six women are the products they make with pride and are championed under the G&G brand. The products handcrafted by these women are imbued with love and the spirit of determination with which they were made.

From left to right: Tessa Valdez, Sandy Romualdez, Juliet Quimbo, Marina Espera, Jenny Llamado, Zeny de Guzman, Annie Garcia. Seated: Lita Evangelista

On March 24, Gifts and Graces held a ribbon cutting ceremony at the SM Megamall Atrium. The event was attended by Gifts and Graces president Sandy Romualdez, donor and patron Tessa Valdez, SM President and G&G Board member Annie Garcia, SM Women's Committee Head Jen Colayco and SM Megamall officers as well as G&G partners. Tessa Valdez made a donation of P50,000 to Gifts and Graces in behalf of Assumption Batch 81.

To read more about the exhibit, please follow the links to The Manila Bulletin and the Philippine Daily Inquirer who wrote about the exhibit. Thanks to Tessa, MB, PDI, Annie Garcia and SM Supermalls and all those who supported the event! Gifts and Graces works with many more women who in turn have their own stories. We hope to feature their stories through our newsletters and this blog in the months to come.