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Tec-Voc High School Designated as Fair Trade School - November 28th, 2018
November
28, 2018 (Winnipeg, MB) – Winnipeg School Division’s (WSD) Tec-Voc High
School today celebrated its official designation as a Fair Trade
School. The designation is made by Fair Trade Canada in recognition of
the school’s commitment to purchases and actions supporting workers and
producers in the Global South.
“We’re very proud of this
recognition and encourage all schools to join us in becoming Fair Trade
designated,” says Sarah Dela Cruz, student member of the Tec-Voc Fair
Trade Committee.
In honour of the recognition, Tec Voc served
up samples of local Fair Trade food and drinks for invited guests and
the school cafeteria put on a Farm and Fair Trade lunch special.

“Tec-Voc
High School will continue to commit to its Fair Trade initiative each
year through the formation of a Fair Trade Committee which consists of
administration, staff and students,” says Kathleen Mira, Business
Education Teacher at Tec-Voc High School. “The committee ensures that
Fair Trade products are offered in our school, both at the school store
and the school cafeteria.” Mira says the committee is also raising
awareness through events and teaching about Fair Trade in the classroom.
“It’s
a pleasure to welcome the 1300 students and staff of Tec-Voc High
School in Winnipeg to the family of schools that has been Fair Trade
designated. As the 22nd school to be designated, and with a committed
steering committee and in-class learning on fair trade issues, Tec-Voc
shows great dedication to the producers in the Global South who benefit
from the movement. This means they can improve their farming practices,
their working conditions and their communities. Go Hornets!” Julie
Francoeur, Executive Director, Fairtrade Canada

Fair
trade is an initiative that promotes livable wages, decent working
conditions and fair prices for farmers and workers in various industries
around the world. From cocoa and coffee, to sugar and cotton, many of
the farmers of these products are marginalized from these multi-billion
dollar industries. The concept of fair trade is to support these
small-scale farmers in developing countries; they can form cooperatives
and vastly improve their working conditions and quality of life for
their families.
“We are very excited to welcome Tec-Voc into the
Fair Trade Schools community. Thanks to the hard work of students,
teachers and staff at Tec-Voc, more farmers and producers will now
benefit from a fair price for their products. Congratulations to all of
you!” Sean McHugh, Executive Director of the Canadian Fair Trade
Network.
Tec-Voc’s school motto is “Think Green! Act Gold! Be a
Hornet!”. This motto emphasizes the importance of environmental
considerations and of being a good and supportive global citizen. In
keeping with this mantra, Tec-Voc recognizes that supporting Fair Trade
brings us together as a global community. Even with small everyday
purchases, as a collective, we can be a catalyst for change.
WSD
was established in 1871 and currently has 78 schools, 33,000 students
and 6,000 employees. Its purpose is to provide a learning environment
that fosters the growth of each student’s potential and provide
equitable opportunity to develop the knowledge, skills and values
necessary for meaningful participation in a global and diverse society.

Tec-Voc in Fair Trade Magazine: http://cftn.ca/content/fair-trade-programs-update-january-2019
Tec-Voc High School Fair Trade Awareness Day - January 10th, 2017
Whether it's chocolate, coffee, rice or other products, North Americans enjoy the bounty of small-scale farmers every day.
But these farmers are often marginalized from these multi-billion dollar industries. The concept of fair trade is to support these small-scale farmers in developing countries; they can form cooperatives and vastly improve their working conditions and quality of life for their families.
Tec Voc High School held a Fair Trade Awareness Day on Jan. 10, part of an ongoing effort to become a fair trade certified school.

Students learned about the concept of fair trade with their home room classmates, as well as being exposed to foods and recipes made with fair trade products.
"We feel it's very beneficial to support farmers in developing countries. These producers are offered a fair and livable wage to support their families," said Kathleen Mira, an Applied Technology and Commerce Teacher at Tec Voc. "This also helps students to realize that the small every day purchases they make can help change the world."
Fair trade practices can impact the producers of many high-volume consumer foods and other goods, such as chocolate, coffee, tea, coconut, bananas, cotton, rice, leather (clothing and sporting goods) and many other products.

Tec Voc will continue to offer fair trade products at Stingers Store and the Vespa Coffee and Juice Bar. The school also has a committee of students and staff that will continue to help bring awareness to fair trade issues.

For more information, visit www.fairtrade.ca .