Shop for gifts that keep on giving in Elmhurst

Bethel United Church of Christ in Elmhurst will host its annual Alternative Gift Market and Ten Thousand Villages from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 22 at 315 E. St. Charles Road.

The Ten Thousand Villages store will offer crafts, jewelry, home décor and Christmas items made by artisans in Third World countries, allowing them to earn a fair wage. This year’s market at Bethel will support international projects as well as local missions. Gift prices start at $3 per giving share.

This annual gift event continues the tradition of supporting the needy around the world with self-sustaining programs providing hunger relief, health care, education, and environmental protection. Among the 17 gift-giving opportunities this year are micro-loans in Peru and Sri Lanka, clean water in India, goats, ducks and earthworms for farmers in the Philippines, medicine and protein drinks for children in Africa, and the Northern Illinois Food Bank. 
 
Monetary donations are directed through Alternative Gifts International (AGI), a nonprofit interfaith agency whose global mission is to send authentic, life-giving gifts to people in crisis worldwide that build peace in our global village and protect and preserve earth’s endangered environment. Over 400 alternative gift markets were held in the USA last year. More information about AGI can be found at www.altgifts.org.
 
An order form can be obtained from the church office or down-loaded from Bethel’s website at www.bethel-ucc.org  (click on Publications) and submitted through December 13. Checks should be made payable to Bethel United Church of Christ referencing AGI. Adult or children’s cards will be provided at the market with inserts describing the specific mission to which the donation is directed. Cards can then be sent informing recipients about the gift given in their honor.