Calendar

IRTFDonate – use this code and Equal Exchange donates 10% of your purchase to IRTF

We’re excited to announce that Equal Exchange will be donating a portion of their sales to IRTF when you shop their online store. 

To shop Equal Exchange click here. Find organic and fairly traded coffees, teas, chocolate, cocoa, nuts, dried fruits, and even olive oil—all from small farmer co-ops, available by the case for stocking up.

Promo code:  IRTFDonate . Enter this code when you check out and Equal Exchange will donate 10% of your purchase back to IRTF!

Equal Exchange was founded as a solidarity organization in 1986 to support small farmers in Nicaragua by importing their coffee despite the US embargo.  Forty years later, this worker-owned co-op continues to prove that a more democratic food system is possible.

To shop Equal Exchange click here

Between May 23 and May 30, communities across Ohio are coming together for a statewide week of interfaith vigils in solidarity with people held in civil immigration detention (a.k.a. ICE jail). Faith leaders, organizers, and community members will raise their voices, hold space for reflection, and stand in collective action. This coordinated week of action calls for:

• An end to ICE detention

• Transparency on detention facility funding

• An end to 287(g) agreements

There will be vigils outside all six ICE jails in Ohio. Vigils may include interfaith prayers, brief speaking programs, and peaceful reflection with signs and candles. Attend a vigil near you, or organize one in your own area to be part of this statewide effort!

https://ohioimmigrant.org/blog/2026/5/19/interfaith-vigils-at-all-six-ic...

Below are details about local events. Email hotline@ohioimmigrant.org to add your vigil.

Learn about the movement to end ICE jail in Ohio here, and see what “life” is like inside by watching these videos.

Seneca County Jail - May 23 (1pm, meet 11:30am) (3040 S. State Route 100, Tiffin)

4winds419 is hosting “Voices for the Detained: Ohio Interfaith Vigil – Seneca County” on Saturday, May 23, from 1-3pm. The vigil will take place at the SCAT grass across the street from the Seneca County Jail in Tiffin (3040 S. State Route 100). Participants are welcome to attend for the full two-hour window or as their schedules allow.

All attendees must meet and park at Hedge Boyer Park (491 Coe St, Tiffin) at 11:30 AM. There is no parking we can use at the jail. If you can offer a ride or need a ride, fill out this form. Want to volunteer in other ways? Fill out this form.

Additional details at this Instagram post.

Mahoning County Jail - May 28 (6pm) (110 Fifth Avenue, Youngstown)

Youngstown Area Interfaith Prayer Group will hold a prayer vigil at Mahoning County Jail on May 28th at 6pm as part of the statewide week of action. Bring signs against ICE in our jail, and for immigrants' rights to due process.

Geauga County Jail - May 28 (7pm) (12450 Merritt Rd, Chardon)

Like-Minded in Lake County is hosting a vigil at the Geauga County ICE jail on May 28th from 7-8:30PM. The vigil will include interfaith prayers, brief speaking programs, and opportunities for peaceful reflection with signs and candles. Your presence is vital as we stand in collective action for justice and compassion. Info and RSVP here.

Northeast Ohio Correctional Center - May 30 (1pm) (2240 Hubbard Road, Youngstown)

At 1pm, people of faith, interfaith clergy, and allies will gather in the gravel lot just north of the NEOCC jail in Youngstown in prayer, song, and reflection, to demand that all detained immigrants and people seeking asylum receive their due process rights — including the right to legal and spiritual counsel while detained. It is a simple demand: all detained immigrants and people seeking asylum MUST receive their constitutionally-protected due process rights.

The vigil is organized by the Youngstown Area Interfaith Prayer Group, the Interfaith Group Against Hate (Cleveland), and the We Are Many, We Are One coalition (Cleveland) as an expression of their continued advocacy of both the rights of immigrants and the moral imperative to stop the for-profit prison system’s abuses and ties to ICE.

Butler County Jail - May 30 (3pm) (705 Hanover Street, Hamilton)

Please join Butler County Immigrant Justice, the Task Force on United Methodist Immigration Ministries of Ohio, and other community partners for a peaceful interfaith prayer vigil from 3-5pm on May 30. We will stand in solidarity with people held in ICE detention in the Butler County Jail and throughout the United States, with signs and candles. Find us on the sidewalk and public space outside the Butler County Jail (705 Hanover Street, Hamilton).

In addition to the core demands outlined above, we are calling for in-person/contact visitation for clergy seeking to care for ICE detainees in the Butler County Jail.

The Task Force on United Methodist Immigration Ministries of Ohio believes that we must welcome the stranger and treat migrants, asylum-seekers, refugees, and immigrants as our native-born citizens. E.g., Leviticus 19:33-34, Matthew 25:35. We oppose all laws and policies that attempt to criminalize, dehumanize, or punish displaced individuals and families based on their immigration status. Additionally, we decry all immigration policies that separate families, undermine due process, detain noncitizens in for-profit detention centers, and diminish protections for asylum-seekers and other vulnerable migrants. See The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church, ¶ 163(G).

Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio - May 30 (4pm) (03151 County Road 24.25 Stryker)

Gather at 4pm outside of the jail for an interfaith vigil.

https://ohioimmigrant.org/blog/2026/5/19/interfaith-vigils-at-all-six-ic...

People of faith, interfaith clergy, and allies will gather in prayer, song and reflection outside the Core civic ICE prison to demand that all its detained immigrants and asylum seekers receive their due process rights and have spiritual counsel while detained.

Whe viregil is organized by the Youngstown Are Interfaith Prayer Group, the Interfaith Group Against hate (Cleveland), and the We Are Many, We Are one coalition (Cleveland) as an expression of their continued advocay of both the rights of immigrants and the moral imperative to stop the for-profit prison system's abuses ties to ICE. 

 "The election of a Black president did not usher us from the shadows of our racist past; rather, it led us down a perilous path and into a decade and a half (and counting) of explicit racial thrashing.” Wesley Walker, author of American Whitelash and The Cost of Progress.

Join us Saturday morning, via Zoom, May 30th (10:30  am to Noon) when we will discuss the above revelatory book, by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Wesley Lowery. To participate in the conversation, RSVP to this email address. 

'That dream has become a nightmare' 

‘That dream has become a nightmare.’ Book explains how white fear leads to violence | Nov. 1-7, 2023 | Real Change

No less an expert on racism, Ibram X. Kendi, author of Stamped From The Beginning and How To Be An Anti-racist, succinctly opined, “American Whitelash is indispensable. Really. It is.”

Our hosts for this discussion are racial equity buddies, Braveheart Gillani and Quentin Smith. Both Quentin and Braveheart are immigrants to this country.  Braveheart hails from Pakistan, and Quentin from the Bahamas.  Braveheart designed the racial equity buddies website!

"In 2008, Barack Obama’s historic victory was heralded as a turning point for the country. And so it would be — just not in the way that most Americans hoped. The election of the nation’s first Black president fanned long-burning embers of white supremacy, igniting a new and frightening phase in a historical American cycle of racial progress and white backlash.

"In American Whitelash, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and best-selling author Wesley Lowery charts the return of this blood-stained trend, showing how the forces of white power retaliated against Obama’s victory — and both profited from, and helped to propel, the rise of Donald Trump.

"Interweaving deep historical analysis with gripping first-hand reporting on both victims and perpetrators of violence, Lowery uncovers how this vicious cycle is carrying us into ever more perilous territory, how the federal government has failed to intervene, and how we still might find a route of escape."

to register RSVP to this Email: racialequitybuddies@gmail.com

States at the Core (STAC) is hosting a Smash Authoritarianism Summer Camp! Come join us for a week of training to expand and sharpen your community defense organizing skills.

Over the last year we, collectively, have experienced the power of local community defense in repelling authoritarian incursions. As authoritarian forces test ‘quieter’ tactics and turn their focus to the upcoming elections, we are offering an intensive training week to kick off a summer of strong local organizing. 

STAC’s virtual Smash Summer Camp will kick off Monday, June 8, and run through Friday, June 12, 2026. It will include four days of evening training sessions and culminate with a fun and inspiring Friday (camp songs optional).  The week will include ask-me-anything breakouts with experienced organizers and leaders from across the country.

Mon 6/8: It’s all about Community Defense
Day 1 at camp will cover how to grow and make stronger community defense networks that are ready for what comes next… and next… and next.

Tues 6/9: You’ve got skills
Day 2 is all about those community organizing skills. We will focus on a set of fundamental organizing skills for expanding the capacity of our community defense work.

Wed 6/10: Do I have a story for you
Day 3 we win the popular narrative and smash authoritarianism by melding our organizing with our stories. Learn practical skills for constructing the story, developing spokespersons, and engaging with the media.

to register click 

Thus 6/11: Choose Your Adventure
Day 4 we start the practical work of planning campaigns, developing strategic analysis, and integrating narrative work into your organizing. 

Fri 6/12: Smashing is fun!
Close out the week with a day of camp fun. We’ll host both a creative action training and a panel of movement leaders and experts on smashing authoritarianism (around the virtual campfire of course)!

We hope you'll join us.

By June 1, we will email you more details and the Zoom login links for each day. The evening sessions will start at 6pm CT / 7pm ET Mon-Th. Friday will have multiple daytime sessions. Please mark your calendars!

to register click here

Let’s reconnect and reignite our shared purpose as a community! This year’s Equal Exchange Summit is more than a gathering—it’s also a celebration of 40 years of changing trade. For four decades, we’ve been working together to build an alternative trade model rooted in solidarity, democracy, and fairness. Together, we’ve connected coffee, chocolate, tea, bananas, and other fairly traded foods from democratically organized small farmer co-ops in the Global South with Citizen-Consumers in the North through Equal Exchange’s worker-owned cooperative—proving that another way of doing business is not only possible, but powerful.

As we mark this 40th anniversary milestone, we do so amid real challenges: historically high coffee and cacao prices, unpredictable tariffs and trade policies, and increasing corporate consolidation in our food system. Join us for a dynamic gathering of farmers, worker-owners, customers, organizers, and partners as we reflect on four decades of impact, confront today’s realities, and chart the next chapter of our solidarity economy—because in a world that urgently needs alternatives, our movement matters more than ever.

Tp regsiter, click here

Thursday, June 11

• Welcome dinner (optional)

• Early check-in available

Friday, June 12

• Keynote Address

• Workshops

• All meals provided, followed by a party

Saturday, June 13

• Breakfast (optional)

• Equal Exchange Roastery Tour (optional)

Overnight accommodation will be provided in Wheaton dorms for anyone wishing to stay on campus Thursday and/or Friday nights.

There is no charge for the event or accommodations this year.

Keynote Address: Santiago Paz López

We are excited to announce our keynote speaker for the 2026 Equal Exchange Summit: Santiago Paz López. Santiago is the Commercial Manager of Norandino Cooperative (formerly Cepicafe) located in the Piura region of Peru. What started out as a small group of coffee growers in the mountains of northern Peru has grown into a thriving cooperative that has been a partner of Equal Exchange for almost thirty years.

For the last forty years, Equal Exchange has built a better food system by helping organized groups of small farmers gain economic independence and greater political power in their regions. Norandino Cooperative is perhaps the strongest example of this approach since our trading partnership began and Santiago has been a key leader in this organization since its inception. He is one of the most visionary forces for social development we have ever worked with. In addition to solidifying the co-op’s market position in coffee, Norandino has expanded to bring co-op representation and infrastructure to sugar and cacao growers in northern Peru. They have built processing plants for both and now control the first step processing (cocoa powder, butter and “liquor”) instead of relying on private players whose primary interest is not the farmers. 

At the summit, Santiago will reflect on past successes and failures in this movement, as well as some of the biggest challenges they face in the coming decades.

“I believe the market is the most important. You must start from the reality of your producers. Most of them live in extreme poverty. The most important thing for them is to generate an income. They are busy surviving from day to day: what do we eat today, what do we eat tomorrow. The market can change matters.”

— Santiago Paz López

WORKSHOPS

The Small Farmer Fund: Investing Beyond Trade

Presented by: Dary Goodrich, Chocolate Supply Chain Manager, Equal Exchange

 Join us for a behind-the-scenes look at what the current chapter of Small Farmer Fund projects looks like on the ground. Since Equal Exchange started, we have always been so much more than a trade partner. We have directed project funds to the farmer co-ops we trade with to build stronger co-op institutions, increase productivity and quality, and build resiliency. These projects have had a deep impact on farmers. Last year, when USAID funding was abruptly cut, millions of dollars in planned co-op and community-led work disappeared overnight. Our answer was to keep finding ways to do this work through our community-supported Small Farmer Fund. In this workshop, we’ll share updates from our partners and share additional ways that you can help sustain this work.

A New Model for Global Worker Cooperatives

Presented by: Kelly Storie, President of La Siembra, and Nicole Vitello, Vice-President of Equal Exchange

 In this workshop, you’ll learn the nuts and bolts of the La Siembra/Equal Exchange merger and hear our vision of what our shared future might look like. Equal Exchange and La Siembra have been sister co-ops and allies for 25 years, working across borders in cocoa and chocolate supply chains and alternative trade. A decade ago, when private equity came calling for La Siembra, Equal Exchange answered with a plan to keep the business in the hands of the Canadian worker-owners. Now, the members of La Siembra Cooperative have joined as fellow co-owners of Equal Exchange. Together, we now manage supply chains in six commodities—coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, fruits, and nuts with manufacturing partners that empower small-scale farmers worldwide.

40 Years of Fair Trade: Reflections and Lessons

Presented by Rink Dickinson, Rob Everts, and Tom Hanlon-Wilde

 On May 1, 2026 Equal Exchange turns 40. In this workshop, we want to reflect on this history through some key questions. How have the key participants of our supply chain—farmer co-ops, Equal Exchange itself, and consumer food coops—succeeded at:

Achieving real linkages that benefit our members and others in the value chain.

Taking economic and political risk to advance our missions and build larger markets for equitably produced goods.

Making progress on building a cooperative economy

Our goal is to share our analysis to provoke discussion and to increase our capacity for co-op innovation in the interesting time ahead.

Industry Consolidation: A Closer Look at Your Options in the Grocery Aisle

Presented by Nova Wetherwax, Director of Merchandising at Sacramento Co-op

 In this workshop, Nova will guide you on how to maximize your shopping impact to support local and independent farms and food producers. Every month seems to bring news of yet another merger or acquisition in the corporate food system. More and more popular independent brands are gobbled up along the way. How is a conscientious shopper able to identify the brands that are independent, cooperative, or structured in ways that guarantee they remain so? Sacramento Co-op tries to balance supporting independent brands and their products alongside stocking market-leading products that usually come from consolidated businesses. They must consider what their members say they want and what they actually buy. Together, we’ll discuss how we can still influence the world we want to live in with the everyday choices we make.

Rhythms of Latin America. Join us for an evening of music, dance, appetizers and refreshments at IRTF’s annual Latin Dance on Saturday, June 13th! This event is a celebration of culture and solidarity, featuring talented dance instructors, delicious food, joyful movement, and connection with others (no partner needed). Doors open at 8pm for dance performances and lessons, and 9:30 for open dancing with DJ Manny.

For tickets or sponsorship opportunities, see http://tiny.cc/latindance.

To sign up for a volunteer shift, click our SignUp.com page. 

To contribute a raffle item, food or beverage, see our GoogleForm . 

What to Expect:

• Special music and vocal performances
• Presentaciónes de baile (dance performances) by Cleveland Rueda, and Burning River Dance Company
• Lecciones de baile (dance lessons) with instructors Martin and Nadia of Cleveland Rueda

• Mexican folkloric dance demonstration by the Bailes Folklóricos de México Workshop participants, presented by AlmaVision: Cultura y Más

• Open dance floor beginning at 9:30 with DJ Manny. Rhythms merengue, cumbia, tango, bachata, reggaeton, salsa

Food and Drinks:

Enjoy a delicious spread of pasa bocas (heavy hors d’oeuvres) including:

• Latin American cuisine from local restaurants
• Refrescos típicos de centroamérica (soft drinks)

Ticket options:

Early bird pricing available through 11:59 June 10th

• $25 full package – hors d'oeuvres, dance performance, dance lesson, and open dancing beginning at 8 pm
• $15 – open dancing with DJ only beginning at 9:30 pm
• $200 group table – reserved seating for 8 persons, raffle tickets, pitcher of jamaica (hibiscus punch), chips and dips (queso, guacamole, salsa)

Regular pricing available June 11th-13th (including tickets purchased at the door)

• $30 full package – hors d'oeuvres, dance performance, dance lesson, and open dancing beginning at 8 pm
• $20 – open dancing with DJ only beginning at 9:30 pm

Sponsorship opportunities:

• $500 – 6 event tickets, logo included in social media promotion, program book, poster posted and slide projection during the event
• $250 – 4 event tickets, logo included in program book, poster posted and slide projection during the event
• $100 – 2 event tickets, logo included in program book, slide projection during event

We hope you can join us for a vibrant evening of joy and dance. All proceeds go towards supporting IRTF’s ongoing human rights work in Central America and Colombia.

For tickets or sponsorship opportunities, see http://tiny.cc/latindance.

To sign up for a volunteer shift, click our SignUp.com page. 

To contribute a raffle item, food or beverage, see our GoogleForm . 

A committee of Catholic sisters from the Congregation of St Joseph (CSJ)  and CSH associates has been working hard to find ways to educate about immigration, support  for migrants, and resistance to ICE injustice.  

The public is invited to attend  “Neighboring the Dear Neighbor: A Catholic Response to Immigration in Cleveland” on Saturday, June 13, 10am-12pm in the Founders’ Room at the St Joseph Center, 3430 Rocky River Dr, Cleveland 4411.

Learn more about Catholic Social Teaching and immigration and the work already being done in the Cleveland area to support our immigrant and refugee neighbors. Find ways that you can contribute to the great works that are already being done in our community.

Presenters are coming from IRTF, Cleveland Whistle Brigade, Building Hope in the City, Re:Source Cleveland and other migrant justice groups.

Registration is suggested: http://tinyurl.com/csjneighbor

Please help us spread the word in your faith networks.

Thank you.