Calendar

Register: CPT Summer Reading Circle | Freedom Is a Constant Struggle

Schedule:

Saturday 6 July 10am CT

Chapter 1: Progressive Struggles against Insidious Capitalist Individualism
Chapter 2: Ferguson Reminds Us of the Importance of a Global Context
Chapter 3: We have to Talk about Systemic Change

Saturday 13 July 10am CT

Chapter 4: On Palestine, G4S, and the Prison-Industrial Complex
Chapter 5: Closures and Continuities
Chapter 6: From Michael Brown to Assata Shakur, the Racist State of America Persists

Saturday 20 July 10am CT

Chapter 7: The Truth Telling Project: Violence in America
Chapter 8: Feminism and Abolition: Theories and Practices for Twenty-First Century

Saturday 27 July 10am CT

Chapter 9: Political Activism and Protest from the 1960s to the Age of Obama
Chapter 10: Transnational Solidarities

Let’s read together Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the foundations of a movement by Angela Davis

‘Freedom is a Constant Struggle’ is a compilation of speeches and essays by feminist scholar and political activist Angela Davis. As a prison abolitionist and Black woman in the United States, Davis leans into an intersectional understanding of movement organizing and guides her work by pulling together several global struggles including Ferguson and the Black liberation movement alongside Palestine and the anti-colonial movement. In the book’s forward, Dr. Cornel West attests that “her ubiquitous lecturing, marvelous teaching, and courageous solidarity in every corner of the globe keep candles of hope burning in the cold and chilling days of neoliberal hegemony.” 

Join us for conversation of hope in our summer reading circle, as we move through the book over the course of four weeks and learn from each other through response and discussion that stems from the text.  

Purchase a hard copy at your local bookstore, lend from your local library, purchase online, or view an online PDF.

Schedule:

Saturday 6 July 10am CT

Chapter 1: Progressive Struggles against Insidious Capitalist Individualism
Chapter 2: Ferguson Reminds Us of the Importance of a Global Context
Chapter 3: We have to Talk about Systemic Change

Saturday 13 July 10am CT

Chapter 4: On Palestine, G4S, and the Prison-Industrial Complex
Chapter 5: Closures and Continuities
Chapter 6: From Michael Brown to Assata Shakur, the Racist State of America Persists

Saturday 20 July 10am CT

Chapter 7: The Truth Telling Project: Violence in America
Chapter 8: Feminism and Abolition: Theories and Practices for Twenty-First Century

Saturday 27 July 10am CT

Chapter 9: Political Activism and Protest from the 1960s to the Age of Obama
Chapter 10: Transnational Solidarities

About IRTF Fair Trade

To join us at an upcoming community festival or fair trade sale, please see the schedule below.

To volunteer at the IRTF fair trade booth, please contact volunteer@irtfcleveland.org or call us at (216) 961 0003. Thank you!

IRTF BACKGROUND

IRTF was founded after two members of the Cleveland Catholic Mission Team in El Salvador were tragically murdered in 1980. Promoting economic justice through alternative trade like fair trade is an important part of IRTF’s human rights mission: to call together people in NE Ohio to walk in solidarity with oppressed peoples of Central America and Colombia to achieve peace, justice, human rights and systemic transformation through nonviolence.

IRTF SUPPORTS ARTISANS & FARMERS

IRTF sells fair trade items to raise tens of thousands of dollars each year in vital income for artisans and farmers in Latin America.  Most of the artisan cooperatives are owned and managed by women, giving themselves the flexibility to set their own hours and working conditions. Because they earn a living wage, their children don’t have to drop out of school to support the family (as is the case for too many families in Latin America).

IRTF fair trade sales include: jewelry, painted wood products, beaded key chains and holiday ornaments, headbands, handbags, wallets, messenger bags, laptop covers. IRTF also sells products from Equal Exchange, the first fair trade coffee company in the US: coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate, olive oil.

WHY ALTERNATIVE TRADE

IRTF works towards justice and equity in the distribution, access to, and participation in the production and consumption of the world’s resources for the people of Central America and Colombia. IRTF examines the corporate-dominated globalization of the economy through the lens of people in Central America and Colombia and how their reality is linked to ours in NE Ohio.  IRTF challenges the dominant economic model that results in exploitation both at home and abroad. IRTF offers an alternative through fair trade. 

WHY FAIR TRADE

Fair trade is a trade model that sets a series of standards to ensure fair wages and human dignity for producers, community investment, environmental sustainability, and more.  IRTF promotes Fair Trade as an alternative trade model to the conventional free market system of trade that currently dominates our world and further divides us into “haves” and “have nots.” Learn more about the principles of fair trade at Fair Trade America.

IRTF-EQUAL EXCHANGE PARTNERSHIP

IRTF brought Equal Exchange, the first fair trade coffee company in the US, to Cleveland in the mid-1990s. Many congregations started selling and serving Equal Exchange coffee as an act of justice and solidarity. Heinen’s became the first grocery chain in the US to sell Equal Exchange in all its stores. Today, IRTF, an interfaith social justice organization, continues as a leader in the NE Ohio fair trade movement.

IRTF MISSION AND VISION

On December 2, 1980, two members of the Cleveland Catholic Mission Team in El Salvador were tragically murdered.  The martyrs:  Jean Donovan, a lay woman from St Luke’s Parish in Lakewood, and Sister Dorothy Kazel, an Ursuline sister who had taught at Beaumont School in Cleveland Heights. They were killed alongside Maryknoll Sisters Ita Ford and Maura Clarke.

 The InterReligious Task Force on Central America (IRTF) was formed so that we here in northeast Ohio might live out the legacy of their great sacrifice—taking action in solidarity with oppressed peoples as they struggle for peace and justice.

 Promoting economic justice through fair trade is an important part of IRTF’s mission: calling together people in NE Ohio to walk in solidarity with oppressed peoples of Central America and Colombia to achieve peace, justice, human rights and systemic transformation through nonviolence.

Working together in our mission leads us closer to our vision. IRTF envisions a world of peace in which all beings live with dignity and in mutual relationships of solidarity.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

IRTF depends on the volunteer help of fair trade enthusiasts to raise vital income for farmers and artisans in the Global South.

If you can help us out for a couple of hours at any of these upcoming fair trade tables, please send a message to volunteer@irtfcleveland.org or call us at (216) 961 0003. Thank you.

IRTF FAIR TRADE SCHEDULE

*Note: The school sales are not open to the general public; they are designed for students, parents, faculty, and staff.

AUG 1-2-3 (THU-FRI-SAT)

5-8pm

Lake Breeze Festival

St Joseph Church

32929 Lake Rd. Avon Lake, OH 44012

https://www.stjosephavonlake.org/festival

AUG 9 (FRI)

IRTF Summer Solidarity Social

6:30-8:30pm

St Paul’s Community Church UCC

4427 Franklin Blvd., Cleveland OH 44113

SEP 14 (SAT)

12-7pm

Waterloo Arts Festival

15605 Waterloo Rd, Cleveland OH 44110

https://www.waterlooartsfest.org/

SEP 21-22 (SAT-SUN)

12-7pm SAT

12-5pm SUN

Tremont Arts and Cultural Festival

Lincoln Park, 1200 Starkweather, Cleveland OH 44113

https://experiencetremont.com/featured-events/tremont-arts-cultural-festival/

OCT 5 (SAT)

9am-2pm

Ohio Fair Trade Expo and Teach-In

John Carroll University

Dolan Science Center, 1 John Carroll Blvd, University Heights OH 44118

2024OhioFairTradeExpo.eventbrite.com

NOV 10 (SUN)

8am-1pm

St Basil, 8700 Brecksville Rd, Brecksville OH 44141

NOV 23-24 (SAT-SUN)

4-7pm Saturday

9am-1pm Sunday

St Noel, 35200 Chardon Rd, Willoughby Hills, OH 44094

*DEC 6 (FRI)

10am-3pm

Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin High School, 13000 Auburn Rd, Chardon Ohio 44024

We hope you’ll join IRTF for our annual Summer Solidarity Social.

Friday, August 9, 6:30–8:30pm (EDT)

St. Paul’s Community Church

4427 Franklin Boulevard

Parking: W 45th St

Enter the backyard from Franklin Blvd, behind the church

(weather notice: in case of rain, we’ll move inside the gym)

About the Summer Solidarity Social

Back in-person for the third year in a row, we look forward to gathering lots of IRTF friends at this annual Summer Solidarity Social.  Join us for live music, spoken word, light refreshments, report updates from IRTF staff and friends.

Special Guest from San Salvador: Leslie Schuld from CIS (Centro de Intercambio y Solidaridad) speaking on current challenges to democracy in El Salvador, namely mass incarceration and the suspension of constitutional rights. She will highlight the Campaign to Release the Innocents of Isla Espíritu Santo from Arbitrary Detention and give an update on the Campaign to Free the Santa Marta 5 water defenders.

Fundraiser

We are raising funds to share among: CIS, St Paul’s Youth Program, and IRTF.

Free-will donations accepted at the backyard gate. (But everyone is welcome, regardless of ability to make a donation.)

Bring your friends, partners and kids! We have playground equipment in the yard.

More about the Summer Solidarity Social on Friday, August 9, 2024

-CIS (Centro de Intercambio y Solidaridad) – Leslie Schuld, San Salvador

-reports from IRTF friends on their activism in justice and liberation campaigns this year

-live music by local musicians (to be announced on social media)

-spoken word poetry and reflections

-sales of coffee direct from El Salvador, fair trade handcrafts, jewelry, and more

-raffle with lots of fun prizes

-light refreshments

-play area for kids

Special farewell and show of appreciation to Kady Manneh, who has been volunteering full time with IRTF since September 2023. Later in August she will return to Germany to begin her university studies.

Free-will donations accepted. $10 suggested.

Please join us on Friday, August 9, 6:30-8:30pm!

IRTF staff and Board of Trustees

To join us at an upcoming community festival or fair trade sale, please see the schedule below.

To volunteer at the IRTF fair trade booth, please contact volunteer@irtfcleveland.org or call us at (216) 961 0003. Thank you!

IRTF BACKGROUND

IRTF was founded after two members of the Cleveland Catholic Mission Team in El Salvador were tragically murdered in 1980. Promoting economic justice through alternative trade like fair trade is an important part of IRTF’s human rights mission: to call together people in NE Ohio to walk in solidarity with oppressed peoples of Central America and Colombia to achieve peace, justice, human rights and systemic transformation through nonviolence.

IRTF SUPPORTS ARTISANS & FARMERS

IRTF sells fair trade items to raise tens of thousands of dollars each year in vital income for artisans and farmers in Latin America.  Most of the artisan cooperatives are owned and managed by women, giving themselves the flexibility to set their own hours and working conditions. Because they earn a living wage, their children don’t have to drop out of school to support the family (as is the case for too many families in Latin America).

IRTF fair trade sales include: jewelry, painted wood products, beaded key chains and holiday ornaments, headbands, handbags, wallets, messenger bags, laptop covers. IRTF also sells products from Equal Exchange, the first fair trade coffee company in the US: coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate, olive oil.

WHY ALTERNATIVE TRADE

IRTF works towards justice and equity in the distribution, access to, and participation in the production and consumption of the world’s resources for the people of Central America and Colombia. IRTF examines the corporate-dominated globalization of the economy through the lens of people in Central America and Colombia and how their reality is linked to ours in NE Ohio.  IRTF challenges the dominant economic model that results in exploitation both at home and abroad. IRTF offers an alternative through fair trade. 

WHY FAIR TRADE

Fair trade is a trade model that sets a series of standards to ensure fair wages and human dignity for producers, community investment, environmental sustainability, and more.  IRTF promotes Fair Trade as an alternative trade model to the conventional free market system of trade that currently dominates our world and further divides us into “haves” and “have nots.” Learn more about the principles of fair trade at Fair Trade America.

IRTF-EQUAL EXCHANGE PARTNERSHIP

IRTF brought Equal Exchange, the first fair trade coffee company in the US, to Cleveland in the mid-1990s. Many congregations started selling and serving Equal Exchange coffee as an act of justice and solidarity. Heinen’s became the first grocery chain in the US to sell Equal Exchange in all its stores. Today, IRTF, an interfaith social justice organization, continues as a leader in the NE Ohio fair trade movement.

IRTF MISSION AND VISION

On December 2, 1980, two members of the Cleveland Catholic Mission Team in El Salvador were tragically murdered.  The martyrs:  Jean Donovan, a lay woman from St Luke’s Parish in Lakewood, and Sister Dorothy Kazel, an Ursuline sister who had taught at Beaumont School in Cleveland Heights. They were killed alongside Maryknoll Sisters Ita Ford and Maura Clarke.

 The InterReligious Task Force on Central America (IRTF) was formed so that we here in northeast Ohio might live out the legacy of their great sacrifice—taking action in solidarity with oppressed peoples as they struggle for peace and justice.

 Promoting economic justice through fair trade is an important part of IRTF’s mission: calling together people in NE Ohio to walk in solidarity with oppressed peoples of Central America and Colombia to achieve peace, justice, human rights and systemic transformation through nonviolence.

Working together in our mission leads us closer to our vision. IRTF envisions a world of peace in which all beings live with dignity and in mutual relationships of solidarity.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

IRTF depends on the volunteer help of fair trade enthusiasts to raise vital income for farmers and artisans in the Global South.

If you can help us out for a couple of hours at any of these upcoming fair trade tables, please send a message to volunteer@irtfcleveland.org or call us at (216) 961 0003. Thank you.

IRTF FAIR TRADE SCHEDULE

*Note: The school sales are not open to the general public; they are designed for students, parents, faculty, and staff.

AUG 1-2-3 (THU-FRI-SAT)

5-8pm

Lake Breeze Festival

St Joseph Church

32929 Lake Rd. Avon Lake, OH 44012

https://www.stjosephavonlake.org/festival

AUG 9 (FRI)

IRTF Summer Solidarity Social

6:30-8:30pm

St Paul’s Community Church UCC

4427 Franklin Blvd., Cleveland OH 44113

SEP 14 (SAT)

12-7pm

Waterloo Arts Festival

15605 Waterloo Rd, Cleveland OH 44110

https://www.waterlooartsfest.org/

SEP 21-22 (SAT-SUN)

12-7pm SAT

12-5pm SUN

Tremont Arts and Cultural Festival

Lincoln Park, 1200 Starkweather, Cleveland OH 44113

https://experiencetremont.com/featured-events/tremont-arts-cultural-festival/

OCT 5 (SAT)

9am-2pm

Ohio Fair Trade Expo and Teach-In

John Carroll University

Dolan Science Center, 1 John Carroll Blvd, University Heights OH 44118

2024OhioFairTradeExpo.eventbrite.com

NOV 10 (SUN)

8am-1pm

St Basil, 8700 Brecksville Rd, Brecksville OH 44141

NOV 23-24 (SAT-SUN)

4-7pm Saturday

9am-1pm Sunday

St Noel, 35200 Chardon Rd, Willoughby Hills, OH 44094

*DEC 6 (FRI)

10am-3pm

Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin High School, 13000 Auburn Rd, Chardon Ohio 44024

Register for #NoWar2024 - World BEYOND War

A global 3-day conference, streamed virtually, with in-person events in Sydney, Australia; Wanfried, Germany; Bogotá, Colombia; and Washington, DC, U.S. Join us virtually – or in-person in Australia, Germany, Colombia, and the U.S. – for the 3-day #NoWar2024 Conference to learn about the impact of the USA’s military base empire and how to resist it. The conference will travel virtually across the globe, visiting sites near U.S. military bases, from Australia, to Germany, to Colombia, with the concluding event in Washington, DC, the heart of the U.S. military base empire.  Foreign bases are being used and have made it easier for the United States to launch and execute disastrous wars, including those in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, and Libya. Across the political spectrum and even within the U.S. military there is growing recognition that many overseas bases should have been closed decades ago, but bureaucratic inertia and misguided political interests have kept them open.

Ending all wars means closing all military bases. The United States of America, unlike any other nation, maintains a massive network of foreign military bases around the world, over 900 bases in more than 90 countries and territories.

These bases are costly in a number of ways: financially, politically, socially, and environmentally. U.S. bases in foreign lands often raise geopolitical tensions, support undemocratic regimes, and serve as a recruiting tool for militant groups opposed to the U.S. presence and the governments its presence bolsters. In other cases, foreign bases are being used and have made it easier for the United States to launch and execute disastrous wars, including those in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, and Libya. Across the political spectrum and even within the U.S. military there is growing recognition that many overseas bases should have been closed decades ago, but bureaucratic inertia and misguided political interests have kept them open.

Join us virtually – or in-person in Australia, Germany, Colombia, and the U.S. – for the 3-day #NoWar2024 Conference to learn about the impact of the USA’s military base empire and how to resist it. The conference will travel virtually across the globe, visiting sites near U.S. military bases, from Australia, to Germany, to Colombia, with the concluding event in Washington, DC, the heart of the U.S. military base empire.

To join us at an upcoming community festival or fair trade sale, please see the schedule below.

To volunteer at the IRTF fair trade booth, please contact volunteer@irtfcleveland.org or call us at (216) 961 0003. Thank you!

IRTF BACKGROUND

IRTF was founded after two members of the Cleveland Catholic Mission Team in El Salvador were tragically murdered in 1980. Promoting economic justice through alternative trade like fair trade is an important part of IRTF’s human rights mission: to call together people in NE Ohio to walk in solidarity with oppressed peoples of Central America and Colombia to achieve peace, justice, human rights and systemic transformation through nonviolence.

IRTF SUPPORTS ARTISANS & FARMERS

IRTF sells fair trade items to raise tens of thousands of dollars each year in vital income for artisans and farmers in Latin America.  Most of the artisan cooperatives are owned and managed by women, giving themselves the flexibility to set their own hours and working conditions. Because they earn a living wage, their children don’t have to drop out of school to support the family (as is the case for too many families in Latin America).

IRTF fair trade sales include: jewelry, painted wood products, beaded key chains and holiday ornaments, headbands, handbags, wallets, messenger bags, laptop covers. IRTF also sells products from Equal Exchange, the first fair trade coffee company in the US: coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate, olive oil.

WHY ALTERNATIVE TRADE

IRTF works towards justice and equity in the distribution, access to, and participation in the production and consumption of the world’s resources for the people of Central America and Colombia. IRTF examines the corporate-dominated globalization of the economy through the lens of people in Central America and Colombia and how their reality is linked to ours in NE Ohio.  IRTF challenges the dominant economic model that results in exploitation both at home and abroad. IRTF offers an alternative through fair trade. 

WHY FAIR TRADE

Fair trade is a trade model that sets a series of standards to ensure fair wages and human dignity for producers, community investment, environmental sustainability, and more.  IRTF promotes Fair Trade as an alternative trade model to the conventional free market system of trade that currently dominates our world and further divides us into “haves” and “have nots.” Learn more about the principles of fair trade at Fair Trade America.

IRTF-EQUAL EXCHANGE PARTNERSHIP

IRTF brought Equal Exchange, the first fair trade coffee company in the US, to Cleveland in the mid-1990s. Many congregations started selling and serving Equal Exchange coffee as an act of justice and solidarity. Heinen’s became the first grocery chain in the US to sell Equal Exchange in all its stores. Today, IRTF, an interfaith social justice organization, continues as a leader in the NE Ohio fair trade movement.

IRTF MISSION AND VISION

On December 2, 1980, two members of the Cleveland Catholic Mission Team in El Salvador were tragically murdered.  The martyrs:  Jean Donovan, a lay woman from St Luke’s Parish in Lakewood, and Sister Dorothy Kazel, an Ursuline sister who had taught at Beaumont School in Cleveland Heights. They were killed alongside Maryknoll Sisters Ita Ford and Maura Clarke.

 The InterReligious Task Force on Central America (IRTF) was formed so that we here in northeast Ohio might live out the legacy of their great sacrifice—taking action in solidarity with oppressed peoples as they struggle for peace and justice.

 Promoting economic justice through fair trade is an important part of IRTF’s mission: calling together people in NE Ohio to walk in solidarity with oppressed peoples of Central America and Colombia to achieve peace, justice, human rights and systemic transformation through nonviolence.

Working together in our mission leads us closer to our vision. IRTF envisions a world of peace in which all beings live with dignity and in mutual relationships of solidarity.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

IRTF depends on the volunteer help of fair trade enthusiasts to raise vital income for farmers and artisans in the Global South.

If you can help us out for a couple of hours at any of these upcoming fair trade tables, please send a message to volunteer@irtfcleveland.org or call us at (216) 961 0003. Thank you.

IRTF FAIR TRADE SCHEDULE

*Note: The school sales are not open to the general public; they are designed for students, parents, faculty, and staff.

AUG 1-2-3 (THU-FRI-SAT)

5-8pm

Lake Breeze Festival

St Joseph Church

32929 Lake Rd. Avon Lake, OH 44012

https://www.stjosephavonlake.org/festival

AUG 9 (FRI)

IRTF Summer Solidarity Social

6:30-8:30pm

St Paul’s Community Church UCC

4427 Franklin Blvd., Cleveland OH 44113

SEP 14 (SAT)

12-7pm

Waterloo Arts Festival

15605 Waterloo Rd, Cleveland OH 44110

https://www.waterlooartsfest.org/

SEP 21-22 (SAT-SUN)

12-7pm SAT

12-5pm SUN

Tremont Arts and Cultural Festival

Lincoln Park, 1200 Starkweather, Cleveland OH 44113

https://experiencetremont.com/featured-events/tremont-arts-cultural-festival/

OCT 5 (SAT)

9am-2pm

Ohio Fair Trade Expo and Teach-In

John Carroll University

Dolan Science Center, 1 John Carroll Blvd, University Heights OH 44118

2024OhioFairTradeExpo.eventbrite.com

NOV 10 (SUN)

8am-1pm

St Basil, 8700 Brecksville Rd, Brecksville OH 44141

NOV 23-24 (SAT-SUN)

4-7pm Saturday

9am-1pm Sunday

St Noel, 35200 Chardon Rd, Willoughby Hills, OH 44094

*DEC 6 (FRI)

10am-3pm

Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin High School, 13000 Auburn Rd, Chardon Ohio 44024

To join us at an upcoming community festival or fair trade sale, please see the schedule below.

To volunteer at the IRTF fair trade booth, please contact volunteer@irtfcleveland.org or call us at (216) 961 0003. Thank you!

IRTF BACKGROUND

IRTF was founded after two members of the Cleveland Catholic Mission Team in El Salvador were tragically murdered in 1980. Promoting economic justice through alternative trade like fair trade is an important part of IRTF’s human rights mission: to call together people in NE Ohio to walk in solidarity with oppressed peoples of Central America and Colombia to achieve peace, justice, human rights and systemic transformation through nonviolence.

IRTF SUPPORTS ARTISANS & FARMERS

IRTF sells fair trade items to raise tens of thousands of dollars each year in vital income for artisans and farmers in Latin America.  Most of the artisan cooperatives are owned and managed by women, giving themselves the flexibility to set their own hours and working conditions. Because they earn a living wage, their children don’t have to drop out of school to support the family (as is the case for too many families in Latin America).

IRTF fair trade sales include: jewelry, painted wood products, beaded key chains and holiday ornaments, headbands, handbags, wallets, messenger bags, laptop covers. IRTF also sells products from Equal Exchange, the first fair trade coffee company in the US: coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate, olive oil.

WHY ALTERNATIVE TRADE

IRTF works towards justice and equity in the distribution, access to, and participation in the production and consumption of the world’s resources for the people of Central America and Colombia. IRTF examines the corporate-dominated globalization of the economy through the lens of people in Central America and Colombia and how their reality is linked to ours in NE Ohio.  IRTF challenges the dominant economic model that results in exploitation both at home and abroad. IRTF offers an alternative through fair trade. 

WHY FAIR TRADE

Fair trade is a trade model that sets a series of standards to ensure fair wages and human dignity for producers, community investment, environmental sustainability, and more.  IRTF promotes Fair Trade as an alternative trade model to the conventional free market system of trade that currently dominates our world and further divides us into “haves” and “have nots.” Learn more about the principles of fair trade at Fair Trade America.

IRTF-EQUAL EXCHANGE PARTNERSHIP

IRTF brought Equal Exchange, the first fair trade coffee company in the US, to Cleveland in the mid-1990s. Many congregations started selling and serving Equal Exchange coffee as an act of justice and solidarity. Heinen’s became the first grocery chain in the US to sell Equal Exchange in all its stores. Today, IRTF, an interfaith social justice organization, continues as a leader in the NE Ohio fair trade movement.

IRTF MISSION AND VISION

On December 2, 1980, two members of the Cleveland Catholic Mission Team in El Salvador were tragically murdered.  The martyrs:  Jean Donovan, a lay woman from St Luke’s Parish in Lakewood, and Sister Dorothy Kazel, an Ursuline sister who had taught at Beaumont School in Cleveland Heights. They were killed alongside Maryknoll Sisters Ita Ford and Maura Clarke.

 The InterReligious Task Force on Central America (IRTF) was formed so that we here in northeast Ohio might live out the legacy of their great sacrifice—taking action in solidarity with oppressed peoples as they struggle for peace and justice.

 Promoting economic justice through fair trade is an important part of IRTF’s mission: calling together people in NE Ohio to walk in solidarity with oppressed peoples of Central America and Colombia to achieve peace, justice, human rights and systemic transformation through nonviolence.

Working together in our mission leads us closer to our vision. IRTF envisions a world of peace in which all beings live with dignity and in mutual relationships of solidarity.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

IRTF depends on the volunteer help of fair trade enthusiasts to raise vital income for farmers and artisans in the Global South.

If you can help us out for a couple of hours at any of these upcoming fair trade tables, please send a message to volunteer@irtfcleveland.org or call us at (216) 961 0003. Thank you.

IRTF FAIR TRADE SCHEDULE

*Note: The school sales are not open to the general public; they are designed for students, parents, faculty, and staff.

AUG 1-2-3 (THU-FRI-SAT)

5-8pm

Lake Breeze Festival

St Joseph Church

32929 Lake Rd. Avon Lake, OH 44012

https://www.stjosephavonlake.org/festival

AUG 9 (FRI)

IRTF Summer Solidarity Social

6:30-8:30pm

St Paul’s Community Church UCC

4427 Franklin Blvd., Cleveland OH 44113

SEP 14 (SAT)

12-7pm

Waterloo Arts Festival

15605 Waterloo Rd, Cleveland OH 44110

https://www.waterlooartsfest.org/

SEP 21-22 (SAT-SUN)

12-7pm SAT

12-5pm SUN

Tremont Arts and Cultural Festival

Lincoln Park, 1200 Starkweather, Cleveland OH 44113

https://experiencetremont.com/featured-events/tremont-arts-cultural-festival/

OCT 5 (SAT)

9am-2pm

Ohio Fair Trade Expo and Teach-In

John Carroll University

Dolan Science Center, 1 John Carroll Blvd, University Heights OH 44118

2024OhioFairTradeExpo.eventbrite.com

NOV 10 (SUN)

8am-1pm

St Basil, 8700 Brecksville Rd, Brecksville OH 44141

NOV 23-24 (SAT-SUN)

4-7pm Saturday

9am-1pm Sunday

St Noel, 35200 Chardon Rd, Willoughby Hills, OH 44094

*DEC 6 (FRI)

10am-3pm

Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin High School, 13000 Auburn Rd, Chardon Ohio 44024