Westminster College to Host Global Gift Market Dec. 4

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - Westminster College's Young Presbyterian Scholars Program (YPS) will sponsor its 10th annual Global Gift Market from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4, on the second and third floors of the McKelvey Campus Center. The event is open to the public.

At the market shoppers can purchase very special and unique gifts in honor of those on their holiday shopping list. The majority of the "gifts" at the market are not physical items, rather the "gifts" are purchases that go towards helping those less fortunate around the globe.

This year's theme, "Real Gifts, Real Impact" makes shopping with a conscience possible. Many of the "gifts" for sale are affiliated with Alternative Gifts International, the organization that provides the market. "Gifts" available in past years have included $1 for 40 doses of medicine for women and children in Burma fleeing from aggression against ethnic minorities; $6 for one book for a school or library in Nicaragua; and $28 to train a family in Haiti to raise goats, which creates income sustainability and decreases malnutrition.

This year the market will also include stations based on the eight United Nations (U.N.) Millennial Goals in order to provide shoppers the opportunity to learn more about the projects they could sponsor and how these international organizations are working to relieve human suffering and promote the U.N. goals. These goals are: relieve hunger, promote education, advocate gender equality, reduce child mortality, promote maternal health, provide medical services, promote environmental sustainability, and global collaboration.

Westminster organizations and local shops participating include: FirstBook Westminster, which distributes free books to literacy programs that serve children in need in Lawrence and Mercer counties; Habitat for Humanity; Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, which is assisting the typhoon victims in the Philippines; Shoulder to Shoulder Pittsburgh, which provides University of Pittsburgh Medical Center personnel to work in Honduras; and Silk Road, a fair trade shop owned by alumna Wendy Farmerie `91.

The following Westminster organizations are sponsoring projects: Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Phi Omega, Alpha Sigma Phi, Disabilities Awareness Club, Lambda Sigma, Kappa Delta, Model UN, Omicron Kappa Sigma, Phi Mu, Pre-Medical Society, Pre-Vet Society, Seekers Fellowship, SCION, Sigma Kappa, Theta Chi, and Zeta Tau Alpha. Additionally, CDs by the late David Bailey are being offered by his family for sale to support projects in the market. Bailey was formerly from New Wilmington and is the father of current students Kelcey and Cameron.

According to Alternative Gifts International, "The gifts offered are unique. They are like no other gifts in our world today. They are gifts of peace and justice, gifts that are sustainable and that build security. These alternative gifts multiply and grow, sometimes exponentially, and offer hope and new life to people facing grave crisis and need. These are authentic gifts that people really use and cherish. They always fit and are never thrown away."

Contact Carey Anne LaSor, YPS coordinator, at 724-946-7365 or email for additional information.

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