HourChallenge

CEP member Hank Kraus wrote a stellar press release for our alternative gift market. Please float this to anyone you know – including media types. We need as much press as we can get!!

For Immediate Release:
Give a Gift that Goes on Giving All Around the World

Alternative Gift Market
Saturday, November 17th
1 p.m. – 4 p.m. at San Marcos Community Center

Christmas season can leave you feeling a little empty, and a little broke. Thanks to the Alternate Gift Market, you may still feel broke, but you won’t feel empty. Buying gifts that change people’s lives will change your life and fill you with a Christmas Spirit reminiscent of days past.

Shopping at one of these markets is an amazing experience. The products all come from artisans in the third world that directly benefit from your purchase. But the best part about shopping at an alternative gift market is the products themselves. They are beautiful, handcrafted objects of art that will please the most discriminating taste and cost less than you would expect.

This year Christians Ending Poverty, a diverse coalition of Christians responding to extreme poverty through advocacy and personal discipleship, will be hosting an Alternative Christmas Market at the San Marcos Community Center. The group aims to raise awareness about extreme global poverty by providing information about the artisans, their products and their living conditions, as well as offer the community a tangible way to make a difference in the lives of others as they shop this Christmas.

Organizations represented at the market will include; Invisible Children, Bead for Life, Amani ya Juu, A Greater Gift, Equal Exchange, 10,000 Villages and many more. These organizations work around the world to enable artisans and farmers to gain access to markets and maintain a sustainable income. Anyone shopping at the sale can know that the proceeds from their purchases improve working conditions and provide access to education and healthcare for the artisans and their families.

Kalpana Palma, an artisan from Bangladesh, who sells embroidery products, says, “I feel great to think that I am a working woman today. This opportunity has enabled me to stand on my feet, taught me to speak and inspired me to look ahead toward a brighter future.”

Cosponsored by several local churches including San Marcos Lutheran Church, The Fathers House, Crossroads CRC, Anglican Church of the Resurrection and The Bridge, the market begins at 1pm and will be over at 4pm. The San Marcos Community Center is located at 3 Civic Center Drive.

Background information:

Christians Ending Poverty is a diverse coalition of Christians based in the North County area responding to extreme poverty through advocacy and personal discipleship. The group was formed this year in response to requests from Christians to speak out with one voice for those whose voices are not heard.

The group advocates in support of the Millennium Development Goals, a realistic and practical plan to cut extreme poverty in half by 2015. Six years ago, 189 world leaders sat down and agreed to end poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

More information can be obtained by visiting www.christiansendingpoverty.org

Contacts: Cory Verner, Christians Ending Poverty, info@christiansendingpoverty.org