Oxfam is an international confederation of 17 organizations networked together in 94 countries, dedicated to finding "practical, innovative ways for people to lift themselves out of poverty and thrive." Among its many fund raising projects is the Oxfam-Canada Stamp programme which raises about $20,000 yearly to fund overseas projects from mail order sales, auctions and stamp shows such as Orapex.
Long-time readers of this site know that this is a "commercial-free" zone, but I will make an exception for the Oxfam stamp programme. I attended the Orapex show in Ottawa this year primarily to visit the Oxfam stamp table. I was not disappointed. Some of the covers I purchased are shown below. Mr. Bill Woodley, who manages the program, was looking after the table on Saturday morning. Not only was he busy catering to several collectors, he was recruiting volunteers. A video interview of Mr. Woodley can be seen HERE. The next Oxfam stamp auction will be held on June 6, 2014.
Now, a look at some of the covers I purchased from Oxfam:
1. Oxfam Personalized Stamp
The 2012 cover shown below mailed from Oxfam's National Office was franked with Oxfam's personalized "TOGETHER WE CAN STAMP OUT POVERTY"
Ottawa to Toronto, February 8, 2012
2. Void Business Reply MailCanada Post provides this definition of Business Reply Mail:
Business Reply Mail (BRM) service is a direct response vehicle that is used by businesses, publishers, government departments, fundraisers and other organizations to seek responses from recipients within Canada (domestic Business Reply Mail) and from recipients around the world (international Business Reply Mail).Customers pay an annual, non-refundable fee and then only pay for items that are returned to them.
To be eligible to use the Business Reply Mail service, the items mailed must meet the criteria specified for the Business Reply Mail service as shown below.
The Business Reply Mail letter shown below is interesting because the sender used an Oxfam Toronto BRM envelope, whited-out the address and re-addressed it to the Oxfam Stamp Programme in Ottawa. The sender invalidated the BRM service and the letter was taxed by Canada Post as unpaid lettermail.
The sender "defaced" the envelope, voiding the BRM service
"Void when coated, covered, defaced, reused or taped over" handstamp
Taxation Analyis
Taxed $1.84, Manual Sortation Short Paid Mail, Ottawa, November 11, 2011
The tax on short paid mail delivered to an addressee is equal to the amount short paid plus the "deficient postage rate" (which has been the same as the standard size 30g. letter rate since 1987).
Amount Due = deficient postage + deficient postage rate
Deficient Postage Rate 2011
Amount Due : $1.84
$1.25 is the "Other Letternail" rate for letters up to 100g.
Modern postal history appeals to a rather small group of collectors, but for me can be as interesting as covers from the pre-stamp period.
3. Rate Covers
Oxfam removes the return addresses from the covers it sells to ensure the privacy of the senders.
Letter rates from March 31, 2014
1. Stamps in booklets, coils, panes : $0.85
22 cent uprate stamp issued on March 31, 2014
Hay River to Kanata, March 31, 2014
First day of $0.85 rate
UNESCO $0.85 permanent stamp from booklet
Ashton to Kanata, March 31, 2014
First day of $0.85 rate and UNESCO issue first day
2. Single Stamps : $1.00
Merrickville to Kanata, March 31, 2014
First day of $1.00 rate
Islington to Kanata, April 8, 2014
$1.00 letter rate
Other Oxfam covers will be added to older posts.