Fall 2002

1) SERRV V.I.P.'s-VOLUNTEERS

Contents:
1) Volunteers
2) ***PREPARING SAMPLE SHIPMENTS***
3) Top Sellers from Spring '02
4) Director's Report,
5) Purchasing Schedule-'03
6) Shared Interest
7) Madison Staff Contact Info


SERRV volunteers are Very important People. They work long hours for no pay. Some of them help at the SERRV warehouse in New Windsor, Maryland, unpacking and pricing new shipments. Others work in their local churches, selling crafts Sunday after Sunday at Church, organizing Alternative Christmas Fairs, lugging heavy boxed of crafts around, setting up displays, taking down displays. Volunteers are crucial to the SERRV Mission. What is their motivation?

"WHY ARE YOU A SERRV VOLUNTEER?
"Being a product of the big depressions in the U.S. and knowing what it means to love without, it is a joy to be able to help, in a small way, make a difference for our sisters and brothers around the world who strive to support their families." Carrie Beckwith, SERRV volunteer in New Windsor and member of the Church of the Brethren.

2) For SERRV Producers / Partners
"We do receive payment, but in a different currency. Our payment is te joy of sharing your fine work with our fellow citizens and of being partners in friendship with you." Dorothy Bauer, SERRV customer from Zion Lutheran Church in Ann Arbor, MI.

SERRV works in partnership with Catholic Relief Services to encourage Roman Catholic parishes to organize a sale of SERRV handcrafts in a program entitled "Work of Human Hands".

"Most producers are women and I feel they will see the money they make goes to their families. I feel SERRV is s very wonderful place to volunteer, with very dedicated employees. I know they treat their producers in a fair and just way and I like being a part of such an organization:.
Helga Ogden, New Windsor volunteer.

2) PREPARING & SHIPPING SAMPLES

Because the offices of the SERRV Product Development & Merchandising Director and Product Coordinator are now located in Madison, Wisconsin, we are asking that product samples be shipped there. Shipments of purchase orders should still be sent to the SERRV warehouse in New Windsor, Maryland.
Kerry Evans, SERRV Product Coordinator, has some specific requests regarding he preparation and shipping of samples to SERRV.

a) PLEASE DO NOT SEND UNSOLICITED SAMPLES. We are not able to pay for the shipping or the cost of unsolicited samples. We are, however, interested in new products and new ideas. Please contact Kerry (kerreserrv@aol.com) via e-mail with your specific new products and she will let you know if you should send a sample, .jpg, or photo.

b) PLEASE MARK EACH INDIVIDUAL SAMPLE CAREFULLY WITH CODE AND PRICE The invoice should include description of the product, producer code, and F.O.B. price. Each sample piece should have only ONE code and One price (in US$).

c) C) Remember, we use the samples to photograph for the catalog and very often they are sold in the SERRV Gift shop. Please pack carefully. WHEN SAMPLES ARE MARKED "NOT FOR SALE" OR ARE DAMAGED, WE CANNOT USE THEM FOR PHOTOGRAPHY OR SELL THEM IN THE GIFT SHOP.

d) SENDING JPG"S. With over 85 SERRV producer / partners, opening hundreds for individual .jpg's of new sample products can be very time-consuming. AS AN ALTERNATIVE, WE WOULD SUGGEST SENDING A CD, ONLY A FEW JPG'S AT A TIME , A PAPER CATALOG, OR PHOTOGRAPHS.

3) TOP SELLERS-SPRING '02
(in terms of sale $$)

#1 -Singing Bowl from Mahaguthi -Nepal-
#2 -Kaleidoscope from Aarong -Bangladesh-
#3 - Tree of Life Metal Sculpture from C.A.H. -Haiti-
#4 -Dragonfly Teapot from Craftlink -vietnam-
#5 -White Clerical Stole from Sarajevo Phoenix -Bosnia/Herzegovina-
#6 -Set of 3 Wooden Eggs from ASHA -India-
#7 -Dijareddoo from Mitra Bali -Indonesia-
#8 -Set of Carved Animals from E.A. Curios -Kenya-
#9 -Secret Lock Box from Aspiration -India-
#10 -Djembe Drum from Interface Trading -Senegal-

4) DIRECTOR'S REPORT
from Bob Chase

-SERRV 2002 SALES REBOUND AFTER SLOW START-

SERRV sales were slower than projected from January to July 2002. This seemed to be related to not enough new products to meet customers expectations and a order to balance SERRV's many financial obligations during the spring-summer period, SERRV must limit the number of purchase orders placed in that quarter.
Fortunately, sales did rebound nicely in August as a result of a special sale offered to store customers. This resulted in a 22% increase in sales for the first 8 months of the years were equal to the same period in 2001.
SERRV mailed 300,000 fall catalogs during the first week in September resulting in a significant increase in sales for September. As of 9/23 sales has already equaled sales for the month last year and we are projected a 20% increase for the month.
Barring unexpectedly political or economic news, we are projecting $6,000,000 in SERRV sales for 2002.

-SERRV INITIATES CHOCOLATE CAMPAIGN-

SERRV, in cooperation with the Kuapa Kokoo Cooperative in Ghana and the Day Chocolate Company in the U.K., is planning a major increase in the distribution of Fairly-traded chocolate in the U.S. during the fall and winter of 2002/2003

Sam Tokheim has joined SERRV's Madison staff as the full-time coordinator of this campaign which hopes to introduce fairly-traded chocolate in mainstream venues.

The campaign, which will focus on Divine Chocolate products which now carry the TransfairUS label, will be regional in nature, beginning in the Midwest (Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago). It is hoped that the campaign can be extended to the coasts (San Francisco and Baltimore / Washington) areas soon.

-SERRV PURCHASES WERE FLAT IN 2002-

SERRV purchases in 2002 were almost identical in volume with 2001. In both years, SERRV purchased about $1,950,000 in inventory. In 2002 however, there was a substantial decline in purchases from U.S. producers (about $110,000) which means that a corresponding increase in purchases went to overseas producers.

SERRV expects to increase its purchases in 2003 by about 15% to about US$2,3000,000.

5) PURCHASING / PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE

September 2002: Initial Design Concepts set for Spring '04
September 27, 2002: Deadline for issuing Spring '03 P.O.'s
October '02: Send Spring '04 design concepts to producers
October: 18, 2002: Deadline for Fall '03 products
November '02: Final Selection of Fall '03 products
December 14, '02: Deadline for Solicited Spring '04 samples to arrive in Madison
January 15, '03: Deadlin for issuing Fall '03 P.O.'s
January '03: Selection of Products for Spring '04
January '03: Initial product development beginsfor Fall '04

6) SHARED INTEREST

Shared Interest is a cooperative lending Society based in Newscastle, U.K. Providing credit for Fair Trade was the reason Shared Interest was established. There are 3 steps in the Fair Trade Credit process: 1) When a buyer places an order with a producer, Shared Interest is notified and makes the prepayment to the producer. 2) When the producer delivers te order, the buyer notifies Shared Interest which then pays the balance to the producer. 3) The buyer then has a period of credit, during which the goods are being sold, before Shared Interest needs to be reimbursed.

Over 9,500 individuals are members of Shared Interest and they are aware of how difficult is it for producers in developing countries to obtain credit. These members invest a portion of their savings, sometimes with interest, and producers pay for the costs of production until returns come in from sales to consumers.

Shared Interest also operates to producers until final payment on a purchase order is made. The clearing House removes the burden of financing fair trade from the buyer and, at the same time, provides the producer with a source of export credit independent of the buyer.

As a by-product, the Clearing House improves the payment process and reduces costs.

ONLY MEMBERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION FOR ALTERNATIVE TRADE (IFAT) ARE ELIGIBLE TO BECOME MEMBER OF THE SHARED INTEREST CLEARING HOUSE.

Shared Interest Society Limited
Attn: Colin Crawford
25 Collingwood St.
Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE11JE, U.K.
Colin.Crawford@shared-interest.com 

IFAT Secretariat
30 Murdock
Bicester, Oxon OX26 4RF
UNITED KINGDOM
cwills@ifat.org.uk

"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them." Mark Twain

7) MADISON STAFF CORNER

We welcome visits from producers at SERRV's offices in Madison, Wisconsin. Madison is 2½ hour drive northwest of Chicago, Illinois and can be reached by plane or bus from Chicago's O'Hare airport.

SERRV offices located in Madison are:
Director: Bob Chase
(serrvdirector@aol.com) 
Product Development & Merchandising:
- Andrea Sapon, Director
(andreasserv@aol.com) 
- Kerry Evans, Product Coordinator
(kerryserrv@aol.com) 
- Elaine Calrk-Hall, Administrative Asst.
(elaineserrv@aol.com) 
Producer Relations:
- Cheryl Musch, Manager
(cherylmserrv@aol.com) 
- Sue Chase (selizabethchase@cs.com) 
SERRV Gift Shop:
- Barb Alvarado, Manager

Remember that Barb Fogle, SERRV
Purchasing Coordinator, is still located in New Windsor, MD.
(Purchasing@serrv.org)