St Mary’s Supports Fairtrade Fortnight

Over the next two weeks St Mary’s University College, Twickenham is raising awareness of its Fairtrade status with a range of events and promotions in support of Fairtrade Fortnight, which is running from Monday 25th February to Sunday 10th March. St Mary’s was awarded Fairtrade status in 2011 after demonstrating its commitment to using and selling Fairtrade goods at its Strawberry Hill campus. Over the next two weeks there will be a range of initiatives and promotions to raise awareness of Fairtrade products and what the University College does to support the Foundation. There will be special offers on Fairtrade hot drinks and confectionary, money off Fairtrade jumpers and hoodies, coffee, cocktail and wine tasting, quiz competitions, a tug-of-war and an art project by PGCE students made from Fairtrade chocolate wrappers. Iain Paton, the London Fairtrade Coordinator, will also be giving lectures to the students and staff at St Mary’s. Chair for the St Mary’s Fairtrade Steering Group Anne Hutchinson said, “Once again the Catering team has put together a great programme for Fairtrade Fortnight, and this year we’re glad to have the enthusiasm and skills of colleagues from across St Mary’s adding to the mix. We’re also very grateful for the support and input of Richmond Fairtrade Group, and particularly Iain Paton. “St Mary’s is committed to Fairtrade throughout the year, not just in Fairtrade Fortnight, but it’s great to have this particular time in the year to concentrate on Fairtrade, and be able to offer such a range of activities and events.” St Mary’s Deputy Catering Manager Nik Santos commented, “Fairtrade Fortnight 2013 builds on the success of last year by asking supporters to ‘take a step further’. It is great to see the students get involved, especially the PGCE students with their art project. Their creativity and enthusiasm is helping to spread the Fairtrade message in the schools where they are completing their teacher training. “The Students' Union is also actively supporting Fairtrade promotions and events. Together with the students, our lecturers including Sally Aston, Dot Jackson and Joanne Woodbridge, and the marketing team are giving this campaign its wings and helping St Mary’s go further for Fairtrade.” Fairtrade Fortnight is launched following a successful Go Green Week, which took place at the beginning of the month and saw the University College raise awareness of sustainability issues on campus with a range of events. A full timetable of events can be found on the website.