Global Village Gifts

By Rachael Wabel

The spirit of helping others abounds during the holiday season, but a shop in Logan allows community members to help year round. Global Village Gifts, located off 100 East in Logan, is a shop that sells handcrafted items from all over the world to help those in struggling countries.

Global Village sells items made by women from across the world including Asia, South America and Africa. The store works to promote fair trade by taking the items made by women, selling them in the shop and returning the money to the women and their families. The store relies on volunteers to keep prices and middleman costs low.

Mabel Draper, a student at Utah State University, volunteered at the shop after discovering them during “Taste of Logan”, an activity held during freshman Connections Week.

“I mostly walked about the store, familiarizing myself with their merchandise. Where it was from, what it’s made of,” Draper said. “I also worked at the desk as a cashier. I basically manned the store.”

Global Village is flexible with volunteers, allowing them to choose when they would like to help, but ask that those who do help try to recruit other volunteers.

Kaitlyn Nef, a sophomore at the University of Utah, volunteered when she was 12 after seeing her mother and older sister work in the shop.

“Since I was only 12 when I volunteered, I was not allowed to work the register or handle any money,” Nef said. “I walked around and helped answer customer questions. I was also in charge of the music, which was a big deal for me.”

Because volunteers are not paid for their time, many see it as a way of giving back.

“The best part was knowing I was helping in an honestly good cause,” Draper said. “It amazes me what people are capable of doing, even when they have limited resources.”

“At the time, I would’ve said the best part was playing with the musical instruments and toys. Looking back my answer is different,” Nef said. “I love knowing that because I convinced that teenager to buy something, a woman in a Third World country was able to buy some food or send her daughter to school. I was helping people.”

For more information about Global Village and volunteering opportunities please visit http://www.globalvillagegifts.org/