The West Hartford fair trade retailer has partnered with an international relief agency and will donate a portion of sales on Friday, Oct. 14.

Ten Thousand VIllages, West Hartford Center. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

Submitted

Ten Thousand Villages, a fair trade retailer located at 967C Farmington Ave. in West Hartford Center, will donate a portion of sales on Friday, Oct. 14, to Mennonite Central Committee’s (MCC) efforts to help people in Haiti affected by Hurricane Matthew.

“We invite our customers to join us as we partner with Mennonite Central Committee and make a difference in the lives of Haitians,” said Store Manager Donita Herr. “Donating a portion of sales to relief is a natural extension of our work, since makers in Haiti have been directly affected by this disaster.”

Mennonite Central Committee began distributing relief kits, blankets, water purification tablets and food to Haitians in areas affected by the widespread flooding on Wednesday, Oct. 5: the day the rain stopped falling in Haiti. Mennonite Central Committee, which has an ongoing presence in Haiti, distributed the materials in cooperation with SAKALA, a MCC partner in Cité Soleil, one of the poorest parts of Port-au-Prince. The effort was just the beginning of MCC’s response to help people of Haiti survive these first days and begin to rebuild.

Ten Thousand Villages commitment to makers in Haiti spans nearly four decades. Through fair trade and an ongoing commitment to providing work with dignity, Ten Thousand Villages has helped makers thrive in Haiti despite earthquakes, floods and embargoes.

Ten Thousand Villages in West Hartford is open 10 a.m.– 8 p.m. on Friday. For more information about the event, visit www.tenthousandvillages.com. For more information about Mennonite Central Committee’s work in Haiti, visit mcc.org/stories/mcc-responding-hurricane-matthew-devastation-haiti.