We have shared with you before about the wonderful women who create the bags and wallets we sell.  They do masterful work, and are changing the lives of their families and communities through their commitment to hard work.  The women are paid fair wages, and with every bag and wallet that is bought, we are helping to build homes for widows in Guatemala.

Plywood People is always seeking to find people creating unique products in the midst of difficult circumstances that we can partner with to make a difference in each other’s lives.  We are learning to be more conscientious consumers.  We are learning to do research to find out where the things we buy are made, and how the workers are treated.  When we can look at the women who are creating the products we sell, and see that they are healthy, well treated, and able to provide for their families, we know that what we’re doing is truly making a difference.

We’d love to share about our most recent trip to Guatemala, introduce you to the women creating the bags and wallets, and show you what your purchases have done for one woman and her family.  This is a story that we hope to tell again and again.  Thanks for your help!

Does your team need to raise money for your next community project or missional trip? Introducing an innovative new fundraiser where everyone wins! Partner with entrepreneurial widows choosing to fight poverty while personally raising dollars to pursue your passion. All products (bracelets, wallets & greeting cards) are hand crafted with recycled or natural materials by women from Uganda, Guatemala and Rwanda. Every product tells a story. Join that story of hope.

EVERY PRODUCT TELLS A STORY

Recycled Billboard Wallets
Women in Guatemala lost their jobs after labor laws were tightened, but are now creating these modern wallets and now working in an empowering environment. They receive free daycare and leadership training, with profits helping build homes for fellow widows from the civil war.
+Learn more about the Wallets

Reclaimed Magazine Acholi Bead Bracelets
Every bracelet is hand rolled out of recycled papers by Ugandan women who are restarting their lives after having fled a brutal civil war in Northern Uganda. You have the opportunity to wear and share their story everyday.
+Learn more about the Beads

Banana Leaf Greeting Cards
Made by widows from Rwanda dramatically influenced by the horrific Genocide. These cards are hand made in community bringing healing and forgiveness to one another. Each card you sell and write in touches the lives that made them and you share their story with friends.
+Learn more about the cards

HOW IT WORKS
Order the Pack. Sell the Goods. Keep the Difference.
Purchase a fair trade pack of goods upfront at a discount bulk rate and sell them at our retail prices. Each pack can raise up to $120 for your project or trip. Products can also be sold at other events you are hosting, like a car wash, bake sale, church gathering, dinner event or even a concert.

Raise money for your project + support communities in need.
Buy 1 Pack for $220 – up to $100 Profit for Your Project
Buy 5 Pack for $1000 ($200 each) – up to $600 Total Profit for Your Project
One Pack includes: 8 Wallets ($15 retail), 8 Bracelets ($15 retail) and 8 Packs of Cards ($10 Retail)

We would like to invite you to talk directly with a representative about this innovative new opportunity, please contact Gisele Nelson 678-576-1598 or gisele@plywoodpeople.com

In 2009, Plywood partnered with Mission Year to bringing together the emerging leaders of our nation for a week of service and learning in Galveston, TX to help restore what was lost in the hurricane. The results were a gathering of 300 young leaders, 9000 service hours, and 38 families homes restored.

In 2010, we will gather around another community in need. We will be partnering with a number of local organizations including FCS Urban Ministries to join in the hard work of community development and learning about the importance simply loving your neighbor. Every day, teams will be serving the neighborhoods and each night will be gathering for learning environments to capture the essence of justice in the city. Work projects will include environmental clean-up, housing renovations, green-space transformation, a neighborhood art installation and many more. Topics will include: service, justice, suffering, culture, consumerism and community. We are looking for groups to join us in this important initiative to intentionally engage the neighborhoods of Atlanta and joining with local hero’s to restore the city. Sign up your group at http://www.originalcity.org

In partnership with HOPE International: we hope to introduce a creative new way to alleviate poverty and empower hard work within the poorest communities of our world. It’s called microfinance, and simply put its giving small loans to people in great need. These small loans are enabling families to fund small businesses in their villages and communities. The average loan is only $100 and the initial loan is paid back in full 99.6% of the time within just six months. That small loan is then shared with a new family for continued transformation and so on and so on. This little idea is changing families all across the world, and through Never Ending Hope, we all have the opportunity to join this story of restoration. Create a story, challenge a friend, and help end poverty. Learn more at http://www.neverendinghope.org

A revolutionary new form of giving. The gift card industry has risen to be a $90 billion industry with $8 Billion going unused every year. Plywood created a new philanthropic non-profit organization to collect gift cards and give them to people and organizations in great need. How many gift cards do you have sitting in your wallet? We guess you have at least $5 of unused gift cards in your wallet or purse right now. What’s 5 bucks going to buy you? Five bucks in Gift Cards may buy you a pair of socks…but 10 people giving 5 bucks will buy a kid a winter coat or 1000 people giving $5 from may give that same kid a warm bedroom to sleep through the night.

The Plywood collective took this idea from concept, design and implementation across the nation through viral implementation and crowd sourcing. This unique project has already been featured by NPR, Paste Magazine, Relevant Magazine, Chicago Sun-Times, Atlanta Journal Constitution. This idea has resulted in giving over $30,000 of unused gift cards directly to people. Learn more at http://www.giftcardgiver.com