Shoppers can get a head start on their holiday gift giving Sunday, Nov. 7 at Lawrence University’s fourth annual alternative giving fair in the Warch Campus Center. The fair, which runs from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., is free and open to the public.
The fair features a marketplace of booths with more than two dozen opportunities to support grassroots organizations involved in humanitarian projects around the world through the “purchase” of alternative/nontraditional “gifts.” Shoppers can donate to organizations involved in a wide range of projects that provide meals for children in Indonesia, medical supplies for children’s hospital in Kenya or solar-powered computers for a rural school in Honduras.
Cards with inserts that describe the cause the shopper chooses will be available so that the purchaser can present them to family and friends in the form of an “alternative gift” for the holidays.
“The alternative giving fair is designed to get the holiday season off to a hopeful and positive start,” said Laura Streyle, president of the organization Students Working Against Hunger and Poverty (SWAHP), which is sponsoring the event. “The amount of collaboration across campus and between Lawrence and the Fox Valley community to nurture the fair will hopefully provide satisfying fruit for all who attend.”
The fair also features tangible gifts hand-crafted by artisans in developing countries such as baskets, jewelry, scarves and hand bags provided by Globally Sound as well as other fair trade items. Live music will be performed by Lawrence students throughout the day and refreshments will be available.
