Gifts That Give Hope

This year the adults in our family are giving alternative gifts for Christmas. To make it more meaningful, we are choosing a charitable gift that somehow represents the person the gift honors. It’s been fun trying to figure out what to give that says, “I understand what matters to you.”


And sometimes it's just frustrating. I chose one gift for a certain relative (no specifics since some of the family occasionally check out this blog) that seemed perfect. I couldn't figure out how to make the targeted donation I wanted on the website, so I called the charity. I explained what I wanted. The pleasant young woman who answered said she would figure out how to designate the specific project; however, in order to make such a donation, the minimum amount was almost twice what I had planned to give. Since it was a charity donation (not just some overpriced knickknack), I decided to bite the bullet and make the donation. 


Relieved I went to run some errands. When I returned home, there was a message from the charity chick, asking me to call her back. Of course, by the time I was able to do so, she wasn't there. I got another lovely representative of the charity. She read the first's notations and explained that I could only donate to the project, not a specific person. I assured her that was fine. She promised to process it and send a gift card I could give.


A few minutes later the phone rang again. It was the lovely woman, who had now talked personally to the charity chick. Apparently unless I was a monthly supporter, I could not donate to a specific project in a specific country. Of course, if I was a corporation doing a major gift (say, a minimum of $1500) they would have found some way to process it (yes, they told me this). Needless to say, that wasn't happening. I could donate to a generic pool that would go to some project similar to the one I wanted, somewhere in the world. It was possible it might even go to the project I wanted. Frustrated now, and realizing I could make that donation online in the original amount, I told her I would make a decision and take care of it online if I decided to go for it.


All that frustration and no further toward the gift. ARGHH!


Do you want to give a meaningful gift with no frustration? Back in September, I had Jennifer Knepper guest blog about the Gifts That Give Hope Alternative Gift Fair. Even though the one-day fair is over, you can order online through December 17. You can easily and simply choose one of 90 gifts in support of one of 30 organizations. Your gift will give hope for years to come. (And you won't be frustrated at all!)

An Alternative Guest

One of the people I’ve gotten to know who is committed to making a difference here in Lancaster County and around the world is Jennifer Knepper. She is a staff nurse in the medical ICU at Hershey Medical Center, an adjunct clinical instructor for Lancaster General College, and a volunteer RN at Water Street Health Services. I’ve asked her to do a guest blog on an event that’s dear to her heart.

During a work shift at Hershey in 2007, I had some downtime at about 2 a.m. and decided to pick up the Patriot News. My eyes immediately went to the article that asked if your grandma really needed another sweater for Christmas or if your dad needed another tie. And I said “NO!”

My parents had actually been telling me for years not to get them anything for the holidays because they had enough “stuff,” so I began giving them gifts to honor them based on the impact that they’d had in my life. For example:

·      I gave the gift of education for a child in Africa through World Vision in their name. I choose this for my parents because my education was always something that they wholeheartedly supported and encouraged. I have come to realize how the gender disparity that exists throughout the world would not likely have afforded me an education had I grown up elsewhere.

·      One year, in honor of my sister, I gave to a cause she feels very passionate about—fighting human trafficking. I had heard the president of International Justice Mission speak at my church about the atrocities of modern day slavery, human trafficking and the like and decided to give the gift of aftercare to a young girl who had been rescued from a brothel for forced prostitution.

As I read the article, I discovered that a group of women in Harrisburg were hosting an alternative gift fair called Gifts That Give Hope. The best way to describe an alternative gift fair is to essentially think of a live version of a gift catalog that you may have seen or received around the holidays to further the work of various nonprofit organizations and to promote meaningful gift giving.

I immediately contacted and subsequently met with them in December of 2007 to brainstorm. In January of 2008, I gathered a small group of vibrant, committed volunteers to put this concept in motion for Lancaster. We hosted our first annual gift fair in November of 2008 and sold over $30,000 worth of gifts that benefited 30+ nonprofit organizations.

We’re now planning for our 3rd annual event and are excited to see how things have grown. We’ve worked to make this event unique to Lancaster with a celebratory and community emphasis. We will be featuring local flavors of well-loved cafes and restaurants unique to Lancaster County: Café Chocolate, Cocina Mexicana, Rachel’s Creperie, Spyro Gyro, Square One Coffee, Rafiki Café and Wendy Jo’s Homemade. Children’s activities are available from the following organizations: The Lancaster Science Factory, Heads Up Lancaster, Your Language Connection, Music for Everyone, and Kids and Cultures.

In addition to the alternative gifts, holiday shoppers can purchase fair trade gift items for loved ones, teachers, coworkers, and the like. Gift items range from “Bead for Life” jewelry made from magazines by women in Uganda, to “Delicious Peace” coffee (organic & fair trade) grown by Christian, Jewish, and Muslim farmers in a co-op in Uganda, and items from “Made by Survivors,” where every piece is handmade by a woman who has been removed from human trafficking and is now involved in respectable and dignified working conditions.

This year’s event will take place on Saturday, November 20, from 10 a.m.–4 p.m., at the Farm and Home Center (Penn State Cooperative Extension building), 1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster. We are still looking for volunteers to help with this year's event. Could you be one of them?

To learn more, check out our website or our blog. "Friend" us on Facebook. Contact us with any questions or to volunteer.

Hope to see you there.