PALMS Australia, a unique group which trains volunteers to work in developing countries, was faced with a troubling predicament. Until goodcompany volunteers came to the rescue.

Apart from its volunteer program, since 1971 PALMS had also operated a fair trade business where it paid isolated communities fair prices for their indigenous products and then sold them in two stores in central Sydney.

But then came the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US.

“That (fair trade) business collapsed  after September 11 because the American tourists stopped coming to Australia and they were the ones that had been purchasing most of the artefacts from Papua New Guinea,’’ PALMS executive director Roger O’Halloran said.

“So we ended up with a warehouse full of stock when the business subsequently closed.’’

Profits from the fair trade business were used to support the PALMS volunteer program, and while that was a concern, the more immediate problem was how to sell the warehouse of stock.

PALMS then placed a Wish through goodcompany seeking help in marketing and organising a warehouse sale.

It received responses from three professionals, Jennie Butterworth from Mallesons Stephen Jaques, Susannah Diamond from Hewlett Packard and Margaret Rose from TPG Networks, who then agreed to work together to ensure a successful warehouse sale.

“The sale netted us $10,000 which made a great contribution to our activities, especially as we had recently become independent from government funding so that was a fairly significant amount for us,’’ Mr O’Halloran said.

Ahead of the sale in July 2005, Mr O’Halloran estimates the goodcompany volunteers spent the equivalent of three to five days marketing and preparing the sale – with all that time put in after work hours.

But he said their commitment to the cause didn’t end once the sale was over – with one of the women placing leftover items for sale on eBay.