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What's New? Hear the voices of and monitor the progress of many African women. Global Mamas at MAGIC Kids August 31, 2006. Las Vegas, NV Global Mamas was thrilled to be presenting their line of hand-made apparel for babies and kids for the first time at MAGIC Kids in Las Vegas, NV in August 2006. MAGIC International is the world’s largest and most widely recognized trade show in the apparel industry and brings together a global audience of buyers and sellers of apparel and accessories for men, women, and children. With over 100,000 attendees and 3,300 exhibitors, attendance at the MAGIC show is key to gaining exposure and to finding new customers for any brand. Global Mamas was pleased both to have a booth at the MAGIC Kids exhibition and also to be showcased in the MAGIC fashion show. The Global Mams line of bright, colorful, hand-made children’s clothing stood out among the crowd and attracted buyers from all over the globe. Global Mamas receives rave reviews from its customers, which include children’s clothing stores, zoos, museums, and gift shops. Judy Steele, owner of Wild Child Boutique in Evanston, IL has been carrying the Global Mamas line since it’s inception. Steele noted, “Our customers purchase Global Mamas products first and foremost because of the bright colors and unique designs. That said, more and more of my customers are asking questions about where and how our products are made. It is a delight to offer them Global Mamas’ products with the fair trade seal of approval.” Krobo Dreams Become Reality August 14, 2006. Odumase-Krobo, Ghana At long last, our dreams of a second Global Mamas location were realized with the opening of operations in Odumase-Krobo on August 14, 2006. Thanks to the hard work and diligence of many volunteers, we are now able to offer our international trade program and services to the talented bead workers of Krobo. Bead making is one of the primary livelihoods in the Somanya/Odumase area of Ghana's Eastern Region. This industry has existed in the local economy for centuries and is still a primary source of income for many families. Most of the bead making businesses are small and family owned with the workshop located on the family compound. In many of the businesses, women play a major role in the bead production carrying out tasks from heating/forming the glass to designing/painting. Women also take the lead in doing the majority of the sale/marketing of the beads. These small bead-making businesses find themselves in a cycle of dependence on larger bead wholesalers. These wholesalers buy the beads from the producers in the house at low rates and then sell the beads to customers at higher rates, acquiring most of the profits. It is difficult for the small bead producers to break out of this cycle of dependency since they do not have the capital to produce larger quantities of beads or travel to larger markets to sell to the end customers at higher prices. The small-scale bead makers need a way to join forces with other producers to increase production capacity as a group, learn how to design and produce finished products, seek larger export customers and receive fair wages for beads produced. By replicating the Global Mamas Co-operative model to the Eastern Region, WIP will be able to bring its services to an underserved community. By helping local bead makers and handicraft producers to expand their businesses and gain access to the global marketplace, WIP’s programs create growth not only for the businesses in the Cooperative, but also for the community as a whole. WIP Fundraiser in Washington D.C. April 8, 2006. Washington, D.C. Women in Progress had its first major fundraising event on April 8, 2006 at the Ghanaian Embassy in Washington D.C. Organized by former WIP volunteer Emilie Kimball and her parents Phil and Kathy, along with the help of Brooke Olster and many other past volunteers, the fundraiser spread the word about WIP while celebrating in Ghanaian fashion. Guests enjoyed Ghanaian food and drink and were entertained by the Anasegromma of Ghana dance group, and speeches were given by Ghanaian Ambassador Fritz Poku, Emilie Kimball, and WIP co-founder Kristin Johnson. Thanks to the kind donations of its guests, WIP raised over $15,000 at this event. “Not only did we raise money, but we also raised awareness that will continue to support WIP for years to come,” said co-organizer Brooke Olster. Proceeds from the event will go to buying a large amount of cotton calico fabric that will be used in the production of Global Mamas fair trade products. The calico will be placed in a revolving loan fund so that better quality calico can be continually purchased at discounted rates, putting more proceeds in the pockets of the women in the Global Mamas cooperative. Global Mamas Home Décor Line Launched at Chicago Trade Show January 21, 2006. Chicago, Illinois. WIP participated in the Chicago Bi-Annual Home Décor and Gift Show, taking a defining step to exponentially increase sales in the U.S. market through the new home décor line. This Chicago trade show is one of the top five most important shows in the U.S. and has enabled WIP to gain a strong foothold in the Midwest region. During her stay with WIP, British interior designer Catherine Deane developed products made for home decorating from the different batiked fabrics. Included in this line are curtains, pillows, tablecloths, napkins, oven mitts, and duvet sets. Former WIP volunteer Amanda Sage, who continues contributing her time and energy to WIP in the U.S., set up the booth and prepared to spread the WIP story. The show was a huge success—Amanda noticed that the buyers “find admiration in the organization, and for some of them, it is their first exposure to fair trade. I was thrilled by the reaction of so many people who were just aghast by the quality, price point, and the story behind it all.” WIP Appoints New Board Members: Kate Herzog & Brittany Campanelli August 19, 2005. Minneapolis, Minnesota. Women in Progress today announced the appointments of Kate Herzog and Brittany Campanelli to the WIP U.S. Board of Directors, effective August 15, 2005. “It is a pleasure to welcome such high caliber individuals to our Board of Directors,” said Renae Adam, WIP Chairman and Executive Director. “Kate’s strong international finance background in both the public and private sectors will be invaluable in helping Women in Progress plan its expansion to new locations. Furthermore, Brittany’s experience in retail merchandising and sales has already proven valuable in improving Global Mamas product quality in the U.S. and in acquiring new customers.” Kate holds a BA in Economics with Statistics from the University of Legon in Accra, Ghana. Brittany has a BA in Merchandising from the University of Colorado. Launch of Ghana Expeditions Website May 10, 2005. Cape Coast, Ghana. Women in Progress launched the “Ghana Expeditions” website which promotes four cultural workshops run by the Ghanaian women members of WIP. The workshops include batiking, drumming and dancing, Ghanaian cuisine, and a fishing village tour. Participation in these traditional African workshops generates income for the local women and helps tourists expand their knowledge of many aspects of the Ghanaian culture. Each workshop last about a half a day (3-4 hours.) To learn more about WIP’s cultural workshops, please visit www.ghanaexpeditions.com. Global Mamas Expands Clothing Line & Website April 4, 2005. Cape Coast, Ghana. Continuing efforts to grow its customer base and support the women of Ghana, Global Mamas has expanded its web site, www.globalmamas.com, and will develop a new collection with several items for babies and women in summer 2005. The expanded collection will include new styles of baby dresses and women’s skirts and dresses. In March, Women in Progress launched a new Handcrafting section of its web site. The pages contain information on the crafts of batiking, tie-dying and sewing, designed to attract more customers and other traffic to the site. The Handcrafting section includes directions on how to batik and tie-dye. The step-by-step instructions use photos and short instructional videos featuring the Global Mamas to describe the batik and tie-dye process. WIP created the Handcrafting section with the goals of educating its consumers about the way its products are created, and increasing overall traffic to its eCommerce site. Global Mamas Working to Bring in New Members February 8, 2005. Cape Coast, Ghana. In February, all 16 members of Women in Progress met for a roundtable discussion on how to improve the process for bringing in new members. The women developed a new process for growing the organization to 24 members by the end of 2005. The members agreed that their top priority was to find talented women who face significant financial barriers. A candidate will attend an initial interview, where she will be evaluated on her financial need, determination to build a business, creativity and understanding of quality and timeliness. WIP will conduct a site visit to assess the applicant’s work and financial situation. The candidate will produce a sample piece of work, which will be evaluated for quality and timeliness. All WIP members expressed enthusiasm about this new system, which will grow the organization, increase Global Mamas’ profits and improve the economic situation for more women in Ghana. The new process for adding new members to the Global Mamas cooperative will be rolled out in March 2005. Women in Progress Awarded Grant from British High Commission November 13, 2004. Cape Coast, Ghana. Women in Progress was awarded its first grant since inception from the British High Commission Small Grants Scheme on August 16, 2004. The funds, totaling 102,418,000 cedis (6,706 British pounds) over one year, were granted to enable Women in Progress to expand its economic development programs that empowers women operating in the micro economy to become economically independent. The British High Commission supported WIP’s efforts to generate additional income for disadvantaged Ghanaian women by offering high-quality, handmade items in the global marketplace. In the three months since the grant was awarded, Women in Progress has been able to accomplish the following as part of its International Trade program: 1) Establish a raw materials revolving loan fund for apparel production that includes calico, the cloth used for batiking, and will soon include dyes/chemicals and other sewing supplies; 2) Open the Global Mamas retail store in Cape Coast that sells traditionally crafted apparel and accessories geared towards tourists; 3) launch the Global Mamas website (www.globalmamas.org) and properly market the site that allows US consumers to purchase products online; and 4) market products made by women in Ghana to retailers abroad through procuring fabric care labels, tags bearing Global Mamas’ social message, and sales catalogs. Women in Progress is grateful to the British High Commission in supporting its approach to economic development—focusing on real, economic results. Through these funded activities, 16 businesses have significantly increased revenues, 96 people have benefited from increased wages, 3 new jobs and/or apprenticeships have been created, and almost $3,500 in sales have been made. The organization expects to generate impressive results in the coming months as the sales and marketing efforts begin to pay off. New Global Mamas Store Opens in Cape Coast September 14, 2004. Cape Coast, Ghana. Women in Progress opened a new Global Mamas store on busy Kingsway Street in Cape Coast on September 14. The new location provides a tremendous opportunity to market the Global Mamas products and WIP's cultural workshops in the profitable local tourist market. The spacious new store carries all of the Global Mamas product line and additional items produced by WIP batikers, seamstresses and apprentices. The store shares space with the well-known Cape Café, a popular eatery among tourists that is mentioned in major tour guides like Lonely Planet and Bradt Guide to Ghana. The Kingsway store is the second Global Mamas location in Cape Coast. In August, WIP opened a smaller location in the Cape Coast Castle, one of the Central Region’s most popular tourist locations. Women in Progress’ new expanded offices are also now located behind the store. Global Mamas Benefits from Local Tourist Markets in Ghana September 6, 2004. Cape Coast, Ghana. Global Mamas is the brand name for apparel and accessories produced by many small business women in Ghana through the facilitation of Women in Progress (WIP). In addition to looking for export markets abroad to generate income for women in Ghana, WIP also is focusing closer to home to develop international markets. Tourism in Ghana is on the rise and it represents provides another lucrative avenue, closer to home, for generating sales. On its first venture, WIP partnered with one small woman-owned business, Eli-Emma Batik, in August to sell goods at the Cape Coast castle. During the first week in September, WIP also opened its own Global Mamas store at the well-known Kingsway location in Cape Coast. The store is sharing space with the popular restaurant Cape Cafe, which is recognized by several tourist guidebooks (such as Lonely Planet and the Brandt Guide.) Each woman batiking or sewing products for the store has also shown her commitment by volunteering in the store monthly. Other exciting partnerships have also developed outside of Cape Coast. Wild Gecko in Accra has placed several orders for batik apparel this summer and has also generated orders for Global Mamas products from US retailers. Inaugural Graduates of Women in Progress’ Computer Basics Course March 2, 2004. Cape Coast, Ghana. Nine Ghanaian business women received their diplomas signifying completion of the Women in Progress basic computer training. Elizabeth Davidson and Sonja Battig had instructed the first class in basic computer skills and speedy typing for eight weeks. Davison designed the course and a training manual specifically for the needs of women who own small businesses in the Cape Coast area. Through the course, Elizabeth Ampiah, Hannah Dodoo, Comfort Koomsom, Alice Korsah, Emma Meyers, Cecilia Quarcoo, Janet Sajoe, Esther Gyepi-Garbrah, and Florence Thompson got an introduction to Microsoft Word and Excel applications, Internet browsing at local internet cafes, and proper typing techniques through “Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing” software. “I’m very happy about the computer classes. I’m also happy about the Internet training. It was my first time to access email. Beth told us to use the Internet as often as we can,” said Emma Meyers, who co-owns a batik and tie-dye shop with Elizabeth Ampiah. Women in Progress created the course to aid the micro/small business women in bookkeeping, communicating with customers and modernizing their business practices. Women in Progress will continue to offer computer training to Ghanaian businesswomen at their office in Cape Coast through the teaching efforts of volunteers. Women in Progress Kicks off Volunteer Program November 26, 2003. Cape Coast, Ghana. Women in Progress kicked off its volunteer and internship program by hosting 12 volunteers in the summer and fall of 2003. Working mainly in teams, the volunteers helped many small woman-owned businesses in Ghana’s Central Region, in addition to improving Women in Progress’ own programs. Volunteers made a difference through their efforts in the following areas: helping a micro entrepreneur write a business plan that helped secure a bank loan needed to expand her business; helping several enterprises develop a series of workshops to be offered to tourists; devising a practical manual and computerized record-keeping system for micro enterprises; tutoring women in the basics of computers; and developing a business plan for Women in Progress’ exporting activities under Global Mamas. The volunteers and students came to Ghana from different parts of the world including Hong Kong, Wisconsin, New York, Illinois, Arizona and Oklahoma. Women in Progress matches volunteers, based on their skills and interests, with women entrepreneurs in Ghana, based on their specific needs. As part of a volunteer program fee, Women in Progress arranges assignments and provides accommodation during their stay. Women in Progress Exports to Foster Business Development in Ghana October 20, 2003. Cape Coast, Ghana. Filling orders on an increasing scale since June has allowed 9 women-owned micro enterprises (54 total people including employees and apprentices) participating in Women in Progress’ International Trade program to build their capacity through “on the job” training. Using its “assisted implementation” approach, Women in Progress helped facilitated the manufacturing of children’s and adult garments that were produced on time and met the rigorous quality standards of US consumers. WIP successfully secured preliminary markets in the US for these items and shipped 6 export orders since June with a combined retail value of over $22,000. In just 5 months, the efforts of Women in Progress’ have led to the generation of 5 new jobs and an additional $970 in profit for each participating business—totaling, on average, nearly 50% of each business’ normal yearly profits. Women in Progress Expands Offices in Ghana March 5, 2003. Cape Coast, Ghana. Women in Progress recently expanded its operations in Cape Coast, Ghana by moving into a new office space. It previously was sharing office space with its strategic partner Progressive Women's Credit Union. The move into the larger office will allow Women in Progress to better serve the women entrepreneurs in Cape Coast by establishing a training room and expanding the Women's Technology Center so that small business women may utilize computers to conduct business and access the Internet. Women in Progress Receives Approval from the IRS as a 501(c)(3) Charity November 22, 2002. Phoenix, Arizona. Women in Progress received its recognition of exemption from federal income tax under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) on November 22, 2002. The exemption is retroactive to the date of incorporation. Women in Progress received an Advance Ruling of tax exemption since it has not yet completed a closed accounting period of 8 months. The IRS will make a final determination of Women in Progress' tax exempt status after four years of operation, during which time the IRS determines if Women in Progress has met the minimum requirements of public support. Students of Hinsdale Central High School Raise Funds for Women in Progress November 13, 2002. Hinsdale, Illinois. The World Wise Student Group of Hinsdale Central High School recently made a $2,000 donation to support the operations of Women in Progress. Students at Hinsdale Central High School have been raising funds to support development projects in Ghana for nearly ten years under the direction of World Cultures teacher, Rob Russo. Past donations have been made to the Progressive Women's Credit Union in Cape Coast to support its operations and to the community of Dixcove for the construction of public facilities. The World Wise Student Group recently started yet another fundraising campaign of selling candles and plans to provide ongoing support to Women in Progress. Christi Harter Serves on Women in Progress Advisory Council August 21, 2002. Greeley, Colorado. Christi Harter accepted an invitation to become a member of the Women in Progress Advisory Council. She brings a tremendous amount of experience to Women in Progress through her education and international development efforts in West Africa. Harter is currently obtaining Ph.D. in educational technology from the University of Northern Colorado and plans to assist Women in Progress in its efforts while conducting research to complete her dissertation on how IT affects women business owners in developing nations. Women in Progress Applies for 501(c)(3) Tax Exempt Status July 5, 2002. Phoenix, Arizona. Women in Progress submitted its application to the IRS for 501(c)(3) tax exempt status on July 4, 2002. The nonprofit corporation is expecting to receive an advanced ruling for tax exemption for the next 5 years since it plans to obtain over one third of its income from public sources. Having a 501(c)(3) status will allow Women in Progress volunteers and donors to take a tax deduction for donations made to Women in Progress. Lora Baker Joins Women in Progress Advisory Council June 27, 2002. Chicago, Illinois. Lora Baker accepted the invitation to serve on the Women in Progress Advisory Council. Baker's rich experience in international development and trade will add tremendous value in forming and executing the most effective programs. Women in Progress is very fortunate to have her aboard. |
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