Terrie-Samundra

Full Circle Exchange is proud to announce that Terrie Samundra and her film Kunjo, is the inaugural winner of the “Wake Up to Justice Award” at the Angelus Student Film Festival.  “The award honors the film that best illuminates global social justice issues through the art of storytelling and cinematic excellence,” said co-founder Mark Priddy. “Kunjo is beautifully made and its message is very timely,” states Priddy.

“It is such an honor to be receiving this award! I love the vision of it and everything it stands for,” said the writer/director. “Thank you so much for loving the film and seeing the truth of Kunjo.”

Kunjo

Kunjo, a 12-year-old Rajasthani refugee spends her days begging in the streets of a rural Punjab village in North India. When an unlikely friendship blossoms between Kunjo and Preeta, an educated schoolgirl from a higher caste, Kunjo reveals her secret passion for storytelling. Betrayed by her new friend, and caught in the complexity of an unconventional friendship, Kunjo faces a crossroads between standing up for herself or submitting to her place of silence in society. For more on Kunjo visit kunjothefilm.com/home.

There will be two showings, 2PM and 7PM. Tickets will cost $10 and North Rampart will be using this as an opportunity to raise funds for the Center and its programs.

“After the Storm is an award-winning, feature-length documentary film that follows a group of New York Broadway actors who were inspired to help the youth of New Orleans,” says Full Circle Co-Founder Mark Priddy. They stage a musical theater production of the Broadway play “Once on this Island” with local teenagers at the St. Marks Community Center located at the edge of the French Quarter. The film follows the crew and the kids from auditions through performances and also includes the story of each young actor’s life in the wake of Katrina. The story of the musical reflects very much so the life in New Orleans post Katrina.

View Trailer

“It is so amazing that The North Rampart Community Center (formerly St. mark’s Community Center) is still up and running and serving the kids in the surrounding neighborhoods,” said film producer and subject James Lecesne.  “The center has just finished up their FOURTH Summer Camp, since the AFTER THE STORM FOUNDATION was there in 2007 to help  re-open the Center. Much of the praise goes to Joanne Finley and Coach Parker who have been heroes working with the kids and also to the  wonderful Board of Directors of NRCC who have worked so valiantly to keep the doors open”, said Lecesne.

“Tell your friends and see the film in the place where it all began,” said Lecesne. If you can’t join us for the screening, you can order the DVD at www.priddybrothers.com with $5.00 of your purchase going to the After the Storm Foundation.

Full Circle Exchange is a socially conscious brand with a mission—to “Promote Justice and Cultivate Good”™ locally and globally through the distribution and sale of Fair Trade and Organic coffee, tea and chocolate.  As a partner of The After the Storm Foundation, Full Circle Exchange will donate proceeds from FCE coffee sales to help assist relief organizations currently serving the youth of New Orleans.

Full Circle Exchange (FCE) is proud to sponsor the inaugural “Wake Up To Justice” award, which will be presented to the film that best illuminates global social justice issues through the art of storytelling and cinematic excellence.   The award will be presented during the Angelus Student Film Festival on September 18th 2010, at the Directors Guild of America in Hollywood.

“This is an award that is that is very important to me and sits at the center of who we are as a company,” said FCE co-founder, Mark Priddy.  Priddy was inspired by last year’s Angelus winner “Kavi,” a 19-minute fictional film about a young boy who wants to escape from the brick kiln where he is forced to work as a modern-day slave. “Kavi” was the first fictional film of its kind to expose the reality of ‘bonded labor,’ a form of modern slavery, said Priddy. Full Circle Exchange donates proceeds from the sale of their fair trade, organic coffee, tea and chocolate to fight global justice issues like human trafficking and bonded labor.

Priddy Brothers has been a long time sponsor  of Angelus and  screened KAVI at their annually-sponsored “Windrider  Forum”, which takes place during the  Sundance Film Festival.  “I was just so struck by the beauty of the film and the passion of filmmaker Greg Helvey.  Helvey’s vision to utilize film and the power of story to make a difference for justice issues, is amazing” said Priddy.

“When hear Greg Helvey’s goal was to reach at least 50,000 people with “Kavi” in the first year, and that his objective was to motivate people to action through awareness, I was truly  inspired. Consequently, I approached Angelus about sponsoring a  ’justice-based award’ this year.”

Among its numerous awards, “Kavi” was nominated for an Academy Award last year. “We can only hope that this year’s “Wake Up To Justice” Award winner has as much success and impact,” said Priddy.

For more information on The “Wake Up To Justice” Award, Presented by Full Circle Exchange, go to http://www.angelus.org/

As part of our “Wake Up To Justice™” campaign, we will be joining together with Power to the Peaful and CARE n Saturday, September 11, 2010. More than 70,000 people are expected to attend the 12^th annual Power to the Peaceful Festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.  The concert for peace and social justice, led by the Billboard chart topping musician and activist and Bay Area local, Michael Franti & Spearhead, has become one of the largest free festivals in the country, and attracts an inspired, diverse, and socially aware audience for a day of music, workshops, informational booths, and fun.

Power to the Peaceful (PTTP) also seeks to connect awareness to action. The second annual Global Action Forum and Celebration – a day of education and inspiration designed to transform the energy of the PTTP into action on global poverty issues – will take place on the evening of Friday, September 10 at the legendary Fillmore Theatre. CARE, a leading humanitarian organization which works to empower women around the world to overcome extreme poverty, is the co-producer of the Forum.

This year’s event will include the presentation of a documentary film, A Powerful Noise, followed by a panel discussion, reception, and acoustic performance by Michael Franti and friends.  The film depicts the stories of two women – a champion for girls’ education in Mali, and a peacemaking survivor of the war in Bosnia – two incredibly powerful women who overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to bring lasting solutions to their communities.   The panel discussion will feature representatives from CARE and others from local NGOs, government and beyond, which will elaborate on the themes from the film including girls’ and women’s empowerment, education, microfinance and more.

The anticipated audience of nearly 1,000 will hear from, and engage with, experts on global poverty issues and gain the inspiration and tools they need to address challenges affecting girls and women around the world.

Join CARE and others as we seek to engage women and girls at key moments for greatest impact: when pregnant and raising an infant, when applying classroom skills in the home and community, and when earning a living.

Here’s to Waking Up To Justice 365 Days a Year™

Mark Priddy
Co-Founder

Ann Morrison Park, usually occupied with Frisbee golf players or joggers on a Tuesday morning, was bustling with more than 100 rambunctious refugee children for the “One World Soccer Camp”, a program that uses the sport to unite refugee communities in Boise. Many of the children, who range from 5 to 18 years old, come from different countries, speak different languages and wear different clothing. But for four days, they have one thing in common: soccer.

(Full Circle Exchange CEO Mark Priddy (center) and founder Atticus Hoffman (right) Boise High School senior,son of well-known producer Michael Hoffman (The Last Station), is the face behind the successful program)

Hoffman says he has always been a “soccer head” and started the program when he was just 14 years old. “One day my dad came back from the YMCA and said, ‘You know, I saw all these refugees being shown around today’, and I got to thinking about it,” Hoffman said. “When I pitched it to the Agency for New Americans, they were really responsive and said, ‘If you can get this together, we can bring you kids.’ So I got on my bike and I rode around talking to everyone locally and getting donations.”

(Full Circle Exchange CEO Mark Priddy (right) and producer Michael Hoffman (Left: The Emperor’s Club, The Last Station)

Here’s to Waking Up To Justice 365 Days a Year™ Atticus.
Sarah – Intern

As a proud corporate partner of CARE, Full Circle Exchange is committed to donating $4.00 per pound of coffee each time you purchase online to further CARE’s Pathway to Empowerment signature programs: Power Within, Mothers Matter and Access Africa.

To learn more about how Full Circle Exchange and CARE are partnering together to empower women around the globe please click here:

In the past 15 years, Convoy of Hope has been active in 45 states and over 120 countries providing disaster response, conducting community events, and directing nutritional programs and sustainability projects.

For the month of June, 30% of everything you buy will be donated to Convoy of Hope to advance the vital work they do around the world.  Convoy has played critical disaster relief roles in Haiti, Chile, and most recently the Tennessee floods. In Haiti alone, Convoy of Hope has installed hundreds of water filters and distributed more than 8.5 million meals since the Earthquake struck.  To support Convoy of Hope, click here.  To learn more about their amazing work, check out their Full Circle Exchange Partnership Page: www.fullcircleexchange.com/coh

Their journey was launched on May 11th in Orange County with a full house of over 200 people that came in support and left in awe. Each member of the audience saw how in just one year the Krochet Kids have grown from supporting 10 Ugandan women to now supporting over 70 women work towards a brighter future. Full Circle Exchange sponsored the event by providing the guests with premium fair trade and organic coffee.

The following morning around 3am they departed for Washington. A bit sleep deprived they were greeted by friends, family and Krochet Kids supporters for their 2nd and 3rd gala style events.

Now, after jetting up the west coast packed into one stuffed car they are heading home. The exciting part about this journey is that it is still going and that we can still help. The Krochet Kids supports are working to produce micro-events for them as they continue heading south back home to Orange County trying to achieve their goal of $100K in May.

If you want to get involved and help us support their efforts you can. It could be as simple as meeting them for coffee and bringing your friends, or inviting them into your community to speak about their work in Uganda.

You can reach them on Twitter or Facebook and follow their journey on the Krochet Kids website.

Click here to shop for coffee, tea and chocolate with 30% of your purchase benefiting Krochet Kids.

See what people are Tweeting here:

One thing we have learned throughout this process is that collaboration is key.  For us, it isn’t enough to simply do what we can- we need to succeed.  Every second a child dies of Malaria.  Every minute a mother dies during childbirth.  Every day thousands of children die of malnutrition.  These deaths are preventable and we need to do something about it.  Yesterday, an interesting quote was shared with me:

“What if China had the cure to the black plague, but didn’t share it with Europe simply because they didn’t think it was important enough or because it’s not their problem?  They would be wrong, just like we are now.”

In order to succeed we need to come together and share ownership in seeing these problems solved.  Full Circle is committed to doing it and joining our community and buying our coffee is a start – but it isn’t nearly enough.  We are going to keep striving to find ways to use our coffee as a springboard for change and as a platform for the marginalized.  But we invite you to collaborate with us and to help us do it better.  How can our coffee progress Care’s mission in your community?  How can Full Circle empower you to make a difference beyond choosing us every morning? To Learn more about our partnership and to purchase one of the Care Signature line of Coffee click here

The CARE National Conference and Celebration is a powerful experience where you dive headfirst into issues, meeting with subject matter experts, speak with like-minded and passionate advocates, and believe that we, as a group of committed citizens, can influence the policies that impact poor communities living on less than $2 a day. Using our voices, we encourage action on behalf of women and girls around the world who don’t have access to the health care, education or financial services that will help lift their families out of poverty. Hillary Clinton will be this year’s keynote speaker.

During the conference, we will providing attendees with our premium coffee. In addition, we will be announcing the launch of 2 major campaigns in support of Care (a bit more on that later). More to come from the conference, stay tuned!