Christmas 2012

A Special Christmas Message for our dear friends, clients, volunteers, donors, and supporters:

It's that time of year again . . . It's a few days before Christmas and we at G&G find ourselves yet again rushing and cramming. We are putting the last ribbon on the last order, fluffing the throwpillows that are going to Robinson's, and our own gifts are almost ready to go. As we prepare to close shop for our traditional shutdown for a much needed rest, we look back on 2012 with much gratefulness. This year we celebrated Women's Month, joined Manila FAME, opened in Robinson's Magnolia and Ermita, and partnered with Globe for capacity building, among other things.

We say thanks and a prayer for our many blessings, including the privilege of doing what we do. And of course we say thanks and a prayer for you our clients, volunteers, donors, and friends for your continued support. We wish you a blessed holiday season and many blessings for the New Year! And we're looking forward to seeing you again next year, the Mayan calendar prediction notwithstanding, refreshed, recharged, and raring to do it all over again in 2013!

Many Thanks,
G&G

What's new in Robinsons

Gifts & Graces is proud to announce our new retail location at Robinsons Place Manila located in Ermita.

You will find a large range of our products in the Philippine Crafts section located on Level 3 of the Robinsons Department Store.

Last night the G&G team went to the mall after hours to set up our area and design our product displays. We are very excited about this new retail venue as it will provide greater exposure for our communities' products. As 100% of our profits go back to continually enhance our workers' skills and make their efforts sustainable we have high hopes of impacting many more lives.

Available in store now are our iconic handpainted newspaper bags, Potrero collection, T'boli bell charms, Retaso collection, our new Bayawak keychains and many more items.

Robinsons Place Manila
Pedro Gil Street

Mall Hours Are
Sunday to Thursday 10:00am to 9:00pm
Friday to Saturday 10:00am to 10:00pm

More photos can be found at
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150209214469987.66415.23239344986&type=1

Corporate Giveaways

 

Gifts and Graces recently participated in two expos at the SMX Convention Centre in Pasay. One was the League of Corporate Foundations CSR Expo 2012 and the other the Corporate Giveaways 2012 Expo. Both Expos gave us the opportunity to showcase our story, work and products to a wide array of visitors from different backgrounds and industries. 

Businesses are increasingly seeing the value in giving back to the community in one way or another, with a lot of our clients choosing to purchase products through Gifts & Graces because they know their money is going towards impacting communities in a positive way. If you have any giveaway requirements for an upcoming event (eg. bags, folders, gifts) do contact us to discuss your ideas.

WFTO Asia Fair Trade Dinner 2012

World Fair Trade Organization ASIA (WFTO ASIA) and World Fair Trade Organization Philippines are hosting a “Fair Trade Dinner” where guests can “Enjoy a meaningful dinner, and savor Fair Trade Fine Food” to culminate the week-long celebration of the Social Enterprises Week and the World Fair Trade Day at the Cocoon Boutique Hotel on Monday May 28, 2012 at 7:00 pm. 


The event aims to showcase and promote Fair Trade food, crafts and social enterprise groups whilst bringing together key personalities in the government, business and NGO sectors.


Tickets are priced at Php 800 (single) Php 1,500 (double) and Php 7,000 (table - group of 10). Dinner tickets must be purchased in advance at World Fair Trade Organization ASIA by emailing fairtradedinner@gmail.com or calling at (632) 415 2219.

ADB Civil Society's Solutions Market

Gifts & Graces was invited to take part in the Asian Development Bank's 45th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors. Running from the 2 May to 5 May, the meeting sought to bring together ministers of finance & development, bankers, private sector representatives, civil society and media to discuss a broad range of issues linked poverty alleviation.

On 3 May, the ADB's Civil Society Program in conjunction with the Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation (ASSIST) and the Global Shapers organized a Solutions Market, showcasing “Innovations Shaping the Future of Development in Asia and the Pacific.” We were granted the opportunity to showcase our work amongst some terrific NGOs and programs working not only around the country, but in other parts of the wider Asian region as well.

Our Executive Director Greg Perez presented on some of our work and experiences. Other presenters on the day included Sen. Chiz Escudero who spoke on “Inspiring Leadership and Youth,” Richard “Dick” Gordon (Chairman of the Philippine Red Cross) and members of the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers Manila Hub; mentor Karen Davila, Mayor Pie Alvarez, Ponce Ernest Samaniego, Dr. Bryan Albert Lim, Bianca Gonzalez, Eric Pasion, Mildred Ople & Eleanor Pinugu.

It was definitely an inspiring few days listening to thoughts and stories about development, time to get back to work and help to make it happen!