Gifts That Make a Difference

St. Paul's Bookstore offers wonderful handcrafts from around the world that are marketed by A Greater Gift, a program of SERRV International. SERRV is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the social and economic progress of people in developing regions of the world by marketing their products in a just and direct manner.

With nearly 60 years of experience, SERRV is a member of the International Fair Trade Association. Among the IFTA standards that SERRV adheres to:

payment of a fair price
gender equity
safe and healthy working conditions
adherence to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in regard to child labor
environmental responsibility

Building up the economic opportunities of people in their own countries gives wage earners viable income so that families are not broken up and people displaced. This displacement most often occurs when family wage earners immigrate to improve their family’s economic survival. A jeweler in Kenya reports in the SERRV newsletter that, "Through sales proceeds from SERRV, our artisans are able to provide for their families' needs including food, shelter, clothing and education for their children." There are similar tributes to SERV from India, Mexico, Chile, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Bookstore will have handcrafts from these countries as well as Haiti, Vietnam, Indonesia, Nepal, Peru, Uganda, and others. We invite you to come and see!