Help STAMP out Poverty
2008 News Bulletin
Oxfam Canada Stamps and Covers Price List and Order Form
Mail & eMail Bid Sale #11 closed on 11 June 2010 (Prices Realized).	Mail and eMail Bid Sale #12 is to be held on June 10, 2011.

What do students from the Parkview Public School in Melville, Saskatchewan have in common with a store in Iqualuit, NWT, an insurance company in Ottawa, and a manufacturer based in Belleville, Ontario? They and hundreds of others are collecting used stamps and envelopes for OXFAM-Canada's Stamp Program. Even provincial premiers and a former prime minister have donated stamps to help stamp out poverty.

How the money is raised

Those used stamps and envelopes can add up. OXFAM-Canada volunteers raise about $10,00 annually by sorting and selling the stamps to collectors. About $150,000 has been given to OXFAM-Canada from the Stamp Program since it started in 1980.

What the money is for

Since the Stamp Program's labour is volunteered and its merchandise donated, virtually all the money raised goes directly to OXFAM-Canada's projects to promote self-help in developing countries. With matching government grants, even small amounts can have a large impact.

What you should save

Everything

• foreign stamps
• Canadian stamps
• commemorative stamps

Keep the entire envelope if there are:

• clearly identifiable town / village postmarks
• registered / special delivery postmarks

What you can do

Save incoming mail and send the used stamps/ envelopes to OXFAM-Canada.

Distribute posters and set up a collection network with friends and co-workers, etc.

Start a stamp club in your community to collect, sort and sell stamps.

Donate your old stamp collections. Canadians from coast to coast can save their used stamps and envelopes for OXFAM-Canada with the knowledge that they will help Stamp out Poverty.

OXFAM-Canada projects supported by the stamp program

The following projects are examples of the kind of work that the Stamp Program supports. They were chosen by the volunteers in the stamp program from among those projects already approved by OXFAM-Canada's Program Committee.

Cuba housing reconstruction and renewal project: $5,000
In Cuba, housing is in very poor condition. There are few materials available to repair and construct housing and people looking for work are moving into the cities from the rural areas adding to the pressure to build housing in Havana.

OXFAM-Canada is working with several other Canadian non-governmental agencies to support partner groups in Cuba who are repairing and reconstructing housing in a Havana neighbourhood. The project helps develop local production of low-cost housing materials using available raw materials. The project includes a self-managed small fund for future repairs.

Partner agencies in Cuba include the Martin Luther King Jr. Centre and the Felix Valera Centre. Both are non-governmental organizations.

Eritrea: Zula village fisheries community development program: $10,000
This community is still rebuilding after years of war and natural disasters. To meet the community's immediate needs of food supply, jobs and economic growth, the program will focus on the local fishing industry working on a small scale to prevent depletion of fish stocks.

Men and women receive appropriate training and equipment to support a community fishing effort. The program also provides vocational and management training so that their community organizations can undertake other development activities.

OXFAM-Canada is supporting the Zula Village Association and the Zula's Women's Unit to implement this program. Part of the program draws on Canadian expertise. Community workers from Eritrea attend the Coady International Institute in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. They also visit eastern Canadian communities involved in inshore fishing and people from these Canadian communities visit Zula.

Some of the other projects funded by the stamp program:

• Peru: Rural Health and Community Environment - $9000 (1993)
• Namibia and Zimbabwe: Seeds and Water Development - $8000 (1992)
• Mozambique: Green Zone Agriculture Cooperatives - $9000 (1991)
• St. Vincent: Adult Literacy Classes - $6000 (1991)
• El Salvador: Integrated Community Health Care - $6000 (1990)
• Eritrea: Hand Pumps for Clean Water - $4000 (1987)

OXFAM-Canada: a snapshot

OXFAM-Canada, an international development agency, was founded in 1963. We work with partners to develop self-reliant and sustainable communities. One of the priorities is building strong, democratic organizations to ensure success and equity in overcoming poverty and powerlessness. We currently work with more than 125 such organizations in Africa and the Americas.

In Canada, OXFAM-Canada is involved in development education, public awareness, community development and fundraising. We also speak out on foreign aid issues including human rights and international financial and trade policy.

For more information on the stamp program or OXFAM-Canada, contact your local OXFAM-Canada office:

National Office
Oxfam Stamp Programme
250 City Centre Avenue, Suite 400
Ottawa, Ontario, K1R 6K7, Canada
Telephone: (613) 237-5236
Fax: (613) 237-0524
email: stamps@oxfam.ca

Prairies Region
230 22nd St. East, Suite 230
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7K 0E9
Telephone: (306) 242-4097
Fax: (306) 665-2128
email: sask@oxfam.ca

Maritimes Region
2099 Gottingen Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3K 3B2
Telephone: (902) 425-7677
Fax: (902) 7778
email: briano@oxfam.ca

Newfoundland Office
P.O. Box 5125
382 Duckworth Street
St. John's, Newfoundland A1C 1H8
Telephone: (709) 753-2202
Fax: (702) 753-4110
email: stjohns@oxfam.ca

Vancouver Office
49 Dunlevy Ave, Suite 210
Vancouver, British Columbia V6A 3A3
Telephone: (604) 736-7678
Fax: (604) 736-9646
email: miriamp@oxfam.ca