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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, November 26, 2007
BETHANY COLLEGE MARKET OFFERS GIFTS FOR A NEEDY WORLD
LINDSBORG, Kan.—At the Bethany College Alternative Gift market Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, holiday shoppers can find gifts of compassion, peace and hope.
The public is invited to attend the market in the Levin Room on the main floor of Pihlblad Memorial Union, open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.
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| A Christmas Bazaar with hand-crafted items will also be available at the market. |
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The Alternative Gift Market allows shoppers to purchase donations for reputable charity groups around the world. For example, shoppers can purchase equipment for a health clinic in Bolivia or nutritional supplements for refugees in Darfur, then send a card to a friend or relative notifying them of the gift in their honor.
Bethany is celebrating its fifth year of hosting an annual, student-sponsored gift market. Students in Bethany seminar – a class for first-year students – regularly host specific booths at the market, which involves learning about the charity cause and making a display. Students also serve on the committee that plans and promotes the event.
“The Alternative Gift Market gives our students the opportunity to be servant-leaders who recognize and respond to needs around the world. It’s a wonderful educational and giving experience for both students and shoppers,” said Campus Pastor Noni Strand, who also serves on the Alternative Gift Market committee.
Handcrafted items, home-baked goods, artisan breads, jewelry and knitted items will be available as part of an accompanying Christmas Bazaar, with proceeds going to Alternative Gifts International.
The market will also feature a collectible ornament. This year, the ornaments are crocheted angels crafted by Rhonda McKee, a custodian at Bethany College.
The 13 charity gifts to be promoted at booths at the market are:
Stoves for people in Haiti
Protection for endangered gorillas in Rwanda
Nutritious snacks for preschool children in Palestine
“Soothe Their Hunger Pangs”: meals for the hungry in the USA
Rice loans for the poor in the Philippines
“Aid to War-Torn Darfur”: nutrition and medicine for refugees in Sudan
Rural health care for villagers in Nepal
Safe houses for migrant women in Lebanon
“Hope for Homeless Neighbors” in the USA
“Cows and Carts” for farmers in Mozambique
“Say Cheese”: sustainable development for cheese makers in Peru
Support for teaching and mentoring young peace makers in the USA and across the world
Equipment for health clinics in Bolivia
Ninety percent of donations to Alternative Gifts International goes directly to the charities, with only ten percent held back for administrative costs.
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| Bethany students organize booths for specific charities at the market. |
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Last year, Bethany College’s annual Alternative Gift Market raised over $2,800 during its two-day sale.
The Bethany College Alternative Gift Market is part of Alternative Gifts International, an interfaith agency that raises funds for global gifts through nationwide gift markets and individual donors. Grants then are sent to the established international projects of reputable non-profit agencies for relief and development.
The global mission of Alternative Gifts International is to send authentic, life-giving gifts to a needy world – gifts that build a partnership with people in crisis and that protect and preserve the earth’s endangered environment – to nourish and sustain a more equitable and peaceful global community. For more information, visit www.altgifts.org.
To learn more about Bethany’s Alternative Gift Market, contact Sue Peterson at (785) 227-3380 ext. 8230.
Bethany College, established by Swedish Lutheran immigrants in 1881, is a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The mission of Bethany College is to nurture and challenge individuals in their search for truth and meaning as they live lives of faith, learning and service. Bethany College is on the Web at www.bethanylb.edu.
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