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The beCAUSE craft show

Colchester, Vermont - March 12, 2011

It's called the beCAUSE craft show, because the exhibitors are not necessarily artisans themselves. Instead, they sell their wares and donate the proceeds to specific social causes around the world.

One of the event organizers, P.J. Neverett commented, "Because it's out not to make money for us, but to make money for other people. We're out to make a difference in the world."

The vendors agree to devote at least fifty percent of their proceeds to a charity of their own choice. Some actually run the charity that they have chosen, such as Jim and Nancy Clark who started the Zienzele Foundation.

Nancy Clark, founder of the Zienzele Foundation told us, "We started the foundation to meet the needs of the women that are caring for the AIDS orphans in rural Zimbabwe."

The Zienzele Foundation does not dole out financial support. Instead, it teaches the women how to generate their own income -- making and selling baskets -- so that they can become self-sufficient.

"We also have made a huge difference for the women who are making the baskets, who are now an empowered group of women who are generating income. They also have become their local experts on HIV and AIDS," Clark said.

The Zienzele Foundation may serve as a model for getting social services to people, in cases where government programs simply don't deliver or don't exist at all. Take Zimbabwe for example, with all of its corruption and political instability. The Clarks say their not-for-profit, with only three people, is too small to attract attention from the government of Zimbabwe.

Nancy Clark added, "It's not top down, it's coming up from the bottom."

"Right now we're acutely aware of need because the economy is poor. But even when the economy is good, there are people in need, and we need to help each other out.That's what makes the world a better place," Neverett said.

At a time when political factions all over the world struggle for power at the top, a few people are connecting directly with the needs of people where they live.

Andy Potter - WCAX News