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Coming Full Circle out of Poverty through the Circles Campaign: 
It Takes a Community to Break through Poverty – 2012-12-30

Circles Campaign

By Katie Sobiech

Recently noticed by CNN and CBS, the Circles Campaign (CC) formed to break the cycle of poverty currently exists in 70 communities and 24 states throughout the U.S.

It all began at “Move the Mountain Leadership Center” in New Mexico as a conversation between welfare recipients and social workers. There they discussed ways to address poverty, build relationships and connect people to services and resources.

Initial results from this campaign showed that for every $1 spent on the program, $2 in welfare and food stamp subsidies were returned to the state, and $4 to the community as new earned income (www.circlescampaign.org).

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October 24, 2013
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Falling into Fair Trade: 
Spruce up Your Holidays with Gifts Worth Giving / Make the Holidays more Meaningful with Gifts Worth Giving – 2012-10-29

Fair Trade

By Katie Sobiech

As the fall season rolls in and you find yourself craving a warm cup of coffee and chocolate, or wanting to find gifts for your loved ones, make sure to stop by Market Path. Celebrating their 5th year this November, Market Path, a local fair trade market, was started by First Grace United Church to help support justice works across the world.

“They started the store as a social justice project to help alleviate poverty world-wide, which is what fair trade works to do,” Day Evans, Manager of Market Path, said.

Most of their products come from South and Central America and Asian and African countries, but they also have items from Colorado, and even Akron, where many refugees have been settling.

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October 24, 2013
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TEDx Akron: 
Spreading Out-of-the-Box Ideas, 
Celebrates 2nd Year Locally – 2012-10-24

By Katie Sobiech

TEDxAkron

If you haven’t already caught on to this phenomenon, allow us to introduce you to TED. TED is a fascinating non-profit, full of bright ideas that started as a 4-day conference in California 25 years ago. Only recently has it really begun to spread like wildfire – creating TEDx’s, or independent conferences, to share even more ideas locally. TED invites some of the world’s greatest “thinkers and doers” – giving them a platform to share their world changing ideas.

At the click of a mouse, viewers are granted “Access to the world’s most inspiring voices”. More than 900 TEDTalks are now available, for free, on their website (www.ted.com). TED enlightens the world through TED.com, their annual conferences and local TEDx events.

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October 24, 2013