Shopping locally to help women globally

RED BANK - Every year on March 8, millions gather in rallies and parades around the world to honor the achievements of women on International Women's Day, an occasion relatively unknown in the United States.

Fair trade retailer Ten Thousand Villages will join forces with the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) to celebrate the event inMarch.

In partnership with the coalition, Ten Thousand Villages will host communityshopping benefits at its more than 100 nationwide stores and on its Web site, tenthousandvillages.com.

When customers shop at Ten Thousand Villages, 69 Broad St., on March 8 between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., 10 percent of all sales will be donated to 180 Turning Lives Around, Hazlet, which is a nonprofit dedicated to providing shelter, counseling, protection, support, prevention, education and advocacy for residents of Monmouth County who are affected by domestic violence and sexual assault.

Sales will also benefit disadvantaged female artisans in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

"International Women's Day, which is celebrated by our artisan partners around the world, honors the resilient spirit of women worldwide," said Dalaiah Kusner, assistant manager, Ten Thousand Villages, Red Bank. "We want to empower all women to build a more peaceful global community."

The promotion will also take place online on March 8, International Women's Day. Ten percent of all online sales will be donated to NCADV when customers shop at www.tenthousandvillages.com.

NCADV builds local and national coalitions for community-based, nonviolent strategies to eradicate social conditions that contribute to violence against women and children.

The United Nations Development Fund for Women estimates that one in three women around the world will be abused in her lifetime.

Many artisan partners working with Ten Thousand Villages provide employment to disadvantaged women, such as Manushi, an artisan group in Nepal.

Manushi, which means "Energetic Woman," seeks to empower their artisans by providing them with skills training

and loans. Founded in 1946, Ten Thousand Villages is a fair trade organization that strives to improve the livelihood of more than 60,000 disadvantaged artisans, the majority of whom are women, by selling handmade gifts, décor and accessories that represent the diverse cultures of artisans in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Product sales help pay for food, education, health care and housing for artisans who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed.

For more information about the InternationalWomen's Day fundraiser, contact Kusner at (732) 576-1621 or visit the store at 69 Broad St. in Red Bank. Visit tenthousandvillages. com to learn more about the event.