Alternative Christmas Fair

Holiday Shopping for Gifts that Make a Difference: Sunday, December 6, 2009, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

 

Looking for gift ideas for the person who has everything? To shop for gifts that make a difference by helping others look no further than the popular annual Alternative Christmas Fair at Hancock United Church of Christ. For the ninth year, Hancock Church is offering a different way to share the holiday spirit of giving by honoring special people with gifts that benefit local, national and international charities.


For example, when giving to “Heifer International” and “Habitat for Humanity”, the shopper will receive a colorful holiday card explaining the contribution made on their behalf as a pledge to help buy meals, livestock, tools or building materials for needy people. Distinctive handcrafts from “Friends of India", special Cambodian gifts from “Sharing, Inc.", unique scarves, shawls and jackets hand-woven by Mayan women through “A Thread of Hope,” and beautiful woven items from “Weavers of Varanasi” will also inspire thoughtful and unique giving.


The Hancock Youth Group will sell baked goods and refreshments, with earnings going toward their mission trip to build houses in rural Kentucky. Special music will be performed by Hancock’s Early Music Consort, The Joyful Noyse.

 

Sharing Foundation


Heifer International

Bead for Life



Participating Organizations

 

Hearts and Noses Hospital Clown Troupe

The Hearts and Noses Hospital Clown Troupe is specially trained to provide relief for sick children and their families at local hospitals including Boston Medical Center, Franciscan Children’s Hospital and Spaulding Rehab. The central goal of the clowns is to engage, empower and give choices to children who seldom are given choices about their care in the hospital.

http://www.hospital-clowns.org/

 

A Thread of Hope Guatemala Free Trade

Helps economically-disadvantaged Mayan women in Guatemala to improve the standard of living for themselves and their families and to empower themselves while preserving their cultural traditions. www.athreadofhope.org

Bead for Life

Community development projects that generate income and help people work their way out of poverty in Uganda.

www.beadforlife.org

City Mission Society

Provides emergency assistance for families and individuals; positive activities & academic enrichment for Boston Public school children; and reducing youth violence.

www.cmsboston.org

The Cotting School

Enables students with special needs to achieve their highest learning potential and level of independence by creating an inclusive community, which fosters academic achievement, skill development and social-emotional maturity. www.cotting.org

Empower Dalit Women of Nepal

Empowers untouchable women socially and economically through education and micro-finance programs.

www.edwon.org

Friends of India

Provides education for village children, job training, shelter and healthcare for those in need in rural Tamil Nadu, South India.

www.friendsofindia.org

Guiding Eyes for the Blind

Provides the blind and visually impaired with superior Guiding Eyes dogs (raised by volunteer puppyraisers), training, and lifetime support services.

www.guidingeyes.org

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Habitat for Humanity

Provides affordable homes for people worldwide in need of decent housing.

www.habitat.org

Heifer International

Helps people worldwide obtain a sustainable source of food and income.

www.heifer.org

HYG/H.O.M.E.S.

Provides decent housing for families in the Neon, KY area. Our youth group gives up a week’s vacation to support this effort.

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Lexington Food Pantry

An interdominational effort to provide people in need of food assistance with a balanced mix of groceries for free.

Carolyn Wortman 781 861-5060

carolynwortman@verizon.net

MinuteMan Services

Help for local seniors with long term needs who wish to remain in their own homes and support for their caregivers.

www.minutemansenior.org

Rosie's Place

Provides a place of safety and comfort to poor and homeless women with rooms and meals in Boston.

www.rosies.org

Sharing Foundation

Help meet the physical, emotional, educational and medical needs of orphaned and seriously disadvantaged children in Cambodia.

www.sharingfoundation.org
Weavers of Varanasi

The weavers are an indigenous traditional community, who use the proceeds for

children's medical and school tuition in India.


Hadass Harel

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Women's Gold Shea Butter Project

Supports women owned cottage industries in Burkina Faso, West Africa


www.womensgold.com

Basic Needs/Basic Rights

Provides access to integrated health, social and economic services for people with mental disorders in Africa and Asia.

Cross.www.basicneeds.org

Communities without Borders

Provides tuition, food clothing and healthcare for Zambian students in need.

www.communitieswithoutborders.org

Project Hope

Provides low-income women in the Boston area with children access to education, jobs, housing, and emergency services; fosters their personal transformation; and works for broader systems change.

www.prohope.org

Sustainable Harvest International

Provides families in Central America with training and tools to overcome poverty while restoring tropical forests.

www.sustainableharvest.org

Tales from Togo

Provides financial assistance to orphans, HIV/AIDS victims, and impoverished families in Togo. West Africa. Projects focus on education, health care, nutrition and providing micro loans to start a small business.

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Kinara

Markets handcrafted products created by non-profit organizations working with physically, mentally and economically challenged individuals in India, providing them a consistent source of revenue as well as an incentive for further skills training.

www.kinara.us

Apabii Patchwork

Supports a Ghanaian woman, Serwaa and her impoverished family. Proceeds also benefit children in a small village by paying their tuition for high school a luxury they would otherwise be unable to afford.

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