The holidays are already upon us! With all that is going on in the world, you may be seeking a way for your holiday gifting to do some good this year. Thankfully, long-time Global Impact charity partner Feed My Starving Children has got you covered.
Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) is a global, Christian nonprofit organization dedicated to providing nutritious meals to children worldwide. Most of their meals are hand packed by volunteers of all ages and then distributed to their global partners who provide the meals to schools, orphanages, clinics, and other feeding programs.
To go one step further in helping communities become self-sufficient, the organization established the FMSC MarketPlace™. For a fair wage, FMSC buys handmade goods from local artisans and then sells the items in their MarketPlace at volunteer food packing sites, MobilePack™ events around the United States, and, luckily for you, online. This program provides support to the artisans and promotes economic growth in the community. In addition, your purchase also provides funding for the nutritious ingredients served in each FMSC meal sent to nearly 100 countries worldwide.
Whether you are purchasing a handmade item for yourself or are giving one as a gift, take a moment to get to know the talented, inspiring artisan who made your one-of-a-kind item. We’ve picked out a few favorite items and highlighted some of the amazing artisans that FMSC works with in the post below. Then, head over to the FMSC MarketPlace website to start your holiday shopping.
AURA | GUATEMALA:
From colorful oven mitts to bright dog toys, we are loving these hand-sewn goods from Guatemala.
Believe Guatemala
Believe Guatemala works to empower and educate families in poverty-stricken communities in Guatemala City. Their Restoration Center serves more than 1,200 families in a community at the City Dump by providing educational programs, Bible studies, community outreach, and leadership training aimed at providing opportunities to break the cycle of poverty. Believe Guatemala employs a skilled sewing team made up of mothers and grandmothers in the community who sew beautiful goods for the FMSC MarketPlace.
Aura has been sewing for more than 40 years. She was asked to help mentor and teach the women in the community dump how to sew. These women are now part of the sewing team at FMSC MarketPlace partner Believe Guatemala. She finds joy in helping others and contributing to future change for the families in her area.
PHILLIS | KENYA:
This bright and cheery jewelry would make anyone’s day! Choose from bracelets, necklaces, and earrings.
Marurui Initiative
Esther Mumbi is a hard-working woman who runs an organized, safe workspace in the Marurui slum in her home country of Kenya. The Marurui Community Initiative now employs 15 women in the community. They are the sole providers for their children and make beautiful, beaded necklaces and bracelets to support their families. Many of the children in the community are now able to attend school. Before starting the Initiative, a majority of the women were doing menial jobs or involved in dangerous activities in order to put food on the table.
In the Marurui slum in Kenya, where food and jobs can be hard to find, Phillis struggled to provide for her children. Thankfully, she found the Marurui Community Initiative, a well-organized, safe workspace employing 14 other women in her community. Together, as the sole providers for their children, the women gather in fellowship to make beautiful, beaded necklaces and bracelets. The sales of these items have allowed Phillis to feed her children and send them to school! She now has hope for a better future.
SUZETTE | THE PHILIPPINES:
These tea towels are going to everyone on my list (especially the Best Mom Ever) and I am buying these napkins for myself!
International Care Ministries (ICM) was founded in 1992 and began with an open air clinic and weekly food distribution in the Philippines. Started by ICM, the Red Rope project is a ministry that teaches women to sew beautiful products and provides them with a steady income with which they can support their families. Women who are part of the Red Rope project are able to send their children to school and move their families to safer living conditions.
Suzette is a manager for the Red Rope Project, a sewing cooperative providing jobs for impoverished women in the Philippine slums. Before Red Rope, the small income Suzette received covered basic needs for her children. Now she is able to send her children to school in addition to providing food. “I enjoy sharing the skills and ideas that I know because this has always been the desire of my heart,” she said.
We hope that this has helped you finish your holiday shopping and that you will feel good about helping to support over 1,800 artisans from around the world. Since 2009, FMSC has shipped more than 4 billion meals! In the 2022/23 fiscal year, FMSC MarketPlace sales funded more than 5 million of those meals. Please consider supporting FMSC’s efforts and shop through their marketplace, or make a gift through your workplace giving campaign.
From all of us at Global Impact, we are wishing you a safe and hopeful holiday season.
