At Large
Alternative gifts
By Rina Jimenez-David
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:36:00 11/30/2008
Filed Under: Lifestyle & Leisure, Retail, Festive Events (including Carnivals)
IF you don’t know yet that the Season of Shopping is upon us, then this bit of news should shake you out of your stupor. An employee of a Wal-Mart store in Long Island, New York was trampled to death when a mob of shoppers burst into the store just as the employee was opening the doors. The shoppers were there to take advantage of “Black Friday,” which occurs right after Thanksgiving and is marked by store sales with great bargains. “Black Friday” got its name because that’s the day most stores are said to earn their biggest profits, getting them out of debt. But the term gains a different meaning, judging from the behavior of the shoppers. Informed that they would have to leave because the store was closing due to the employee’s death, many shoppers protested and insisted on their “right” to shop. Other Wal-Mart employees were also injured when they tried to help their co-worker, while a pregnant woman had to be rushed to the hospital after she was knocked down by other customers.
You may not share the Wal-Mart shoppers’ mania, but you must know that, hard times or not, you’d have to go shopping for a gift or two (or more), lest you be shunned in this season of goodwill.
To help those who have no patience trolling the tiangges, I’ve compiled a tentative list of gifts you can give while knowing that they will “go on giving,” helping communities and individuals better themselves and survive the coming season of hardship. Best of all, some of these gifts are available on-line, turning you into a shopper without need of leaving your comfortable perch in front of your trusty computer!
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YOU only have until Wednesday to place your orders for products made by students of The Learning Center (TLC), which works with children and adults with learning disabilities. Students at the Sheltered Workshop Class, especially the activity workshop and kitchen workshop, have been at work preparing gift items and baked goodies, with the sales proceeds supporting TLC and the students’ stipend. Landa Bautista of TLC writes that “currently, there are hardly any employment options for special needs individuals…(so our) primary aim (is to enable) our students to participate actively in community life, making them true contributors to society that offer our students opportunities for independence and personal development.”
Among the items on sale are leather and wire book markers, beaded key chains, door knob charms, bag charms, and mobile phone charms; gift tags; and from the kitchen, fruity tartlets in apple cinnamon, peach and banana flavors, as well as homemade achara or pickled papaya, always a best-seller.
Most of the items come in silver boxes or cans, while the tartlets come packaged in decorative tin cans or plastic canisters.
For prices (quite reasonable, I assure you!), photos and to place your orders, you may visit TLC’s website www.tlcinc75.multiply.com but TLC requests that orders be placed by Dec. 3, as they do not wish to unduly pressure their students in their workshops.
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FOR a P100 ticket, you can take part in the PBSP “Christmas Community Trunk Bazaar” from Dec. 8-10 from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. at the EchoStore in Serendra Plaza, Bonifacio Global City.
Each ticket entitles you to free coffee and the chance to shop for gifts among the products of micro community-based producers from the following areas: Bulacan; Pandacaqui, Pampanga; San Manuel, Tarlac; Cebu; Bohol; Davao Oriental and Lake Sebu in South Cotabato. PBSP is the largest corporate-led, non-profit social development foundation in the country, and part of its mandate has been to support small-scale community-based entrepreneurs, some of whom will be represented in the bazaar. For tickets and details, call EchoStore at 901-3845.
On Sunday, Dec. 14, you’re also invited to take part in a fundraiser called “Arts n Friends,” the proceeds of which will be going to Kidney Friends, an NGO working for families of kidney patients. The goal of Kidney Friends is to educate the public about kidney disease and assist families of kidney patients to raise money for the expensive treatments.
Artist-friends of the organizers, including our own family friend Del Garcia, as well as National Artist Napoleon Abueva and ceramic artist Lanelle Abueva, among many others, have donated their works for a silent auction which begins at 4 p.m. and ends at 9 p.m. Venue for this event is Rafa’s Deli + Café, 10-C Xavierville Ave., Loyola Heights, QC.
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HERE’S a listing of other “gifts that keep on giving” to keep in mind:
Christmas Cards produced by the AHON Foundation (Acts of Hope for the Nation). Every card you buy (for P100, P300 and P500 each) will contain the name of the recipient in whose name a donation will be made. To date, Ahon has already helped 20 public elementary schools in Quezon City, Marikina, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan and Bulacan by setting up functional and well-equipped libraries to assist in the schools’ literacy program.
Ashoka-Youth Venture Philippines memo holders (P100-P150 each) and T-shirts (P170 each) help raise funds for Ashoka’s projects, such as tutorial programs for non-readers in their community and preventive health programs for community youth.
Pathways to Higher Education has helped hundreds of academically-gifted but financially-disadvantaged students gain access to quality higher education. For this season, Pathways offers organic products from P150-P250 only. Check out the products at www.pathwaysphilippines.org or contact them at 426-6001 loc. 4048.
Kaya Natin! Baller Bands unite Filipinos behind a drive for “effective and ethical government leaders in our country.” Each baller band costs a mere P50 and may be ordered through filipinochangemaker.blogspot.com
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