Steering Shared Interest to local success

Posted by Sally

December 9, 2008

Having settled into my new job and new home I came across the perfect opportunity to combine and develop both of these things. Leighton Buzzard is a fair trade town and has its very own, extremely active and well run, fair trade steering group. I was invited along to their most recent meeting at the end of November where I learnt all about their activities and plans. Some of the members had heard of Shared Interest and they were all keen to hear more about what we do and how we work. I was encouraged by the suggestions the group made and ideas for how I could get involved in local activities and events to promote Shared Interest.

One such suggestion came from Angela Feaviour who proposed doing a press release for the local newspapers. The article covers Shared Interest and the Steering Group and will hopefully be in print this week. I am hoping this will be a great opportunity to raise awareness of Shared Interest locally, encourage support for the Steering Group and generate more opportunities for me to speak about Shared Interest.

Following on the local thread I also paid a visit to Leighton Buzzard’s local ethical, organic and fair trade shop. Greenways, was set up around 18 months ago and is seeing a steady increase in popularity as people come to realise ethical, organic and green aren’t just for hippies. This shop stocks a great variety of products. Andrea and Ian aim to offer a fair trade, ethical alternative to all things found in the household. There is certainly room for collaboration here and I’ll be meeting Andrea in the New Year to discuss ideas.

I feel pleased to be able to combine my work and home life to mutual benefit. I can explore opportunities for Shared Interest while making new friends along the way.