Oxfam 1942

Registered Charity; part of Oxfam International, a grouping of 14 organisations built around tackling world-wide poverty and injustice; founded in Oxford by Quakers and academics in 1942 as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief, with aim of relieving famine in Nazi-occupied Greece; name changed to Oxfam in 1965; still works to elleviate famine through provision of food and medicine but now also tackles development issues and human rights; funded largely through its network of volunteer-run charity shops, first one opened in 1948; stock originally from public donations but currently (2010) includes products from developing countries in Africa, Asia and South America, including handcrafts, books, music CDs and instruments, clothing, toys, food and ethnic creations.