Gifts with meaning – Alternative Gift Market

This holiday season, show your goodwill with gifts from the Unitarian Church of Barnstable’s 2013 ALTERNATIVE GIFT MARKET.

The Alternative Gift Market is a unique two-day shopping experience where you can get acquainted with a variety of local charities and make donations in the name of someone else as a gift. These organizations provide a wide range of services, including health services, protection of wildlife, preservation of our environment, legal advice and advocacy and making Cape Cod a kinder, safer place for everyone.

DETAILS:
When: Saturday, November 23, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
& Sunday, November 24, 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Where: Unitarian Church of Barnstable, 3330 Main Street, Barnstable, MA 02630

All donations are tax deductible and credit cards will be accepted.
Refreshments will be served.

PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS:

• A Baby Center distributes critical baby items such as diapers, wipes, clothing, formula and safe car seats to families living in low income households on Cape Cod and the Islands with babies under the age of three.
• Audible Local Ledger is a radio reading service serving Cape Cod and the Islands for the blind, visually impaired, and print disabled.
• Barnstable Land Trust protects land in its natural state in order to preserve the natural resources of our community; its wetlands, woodlands, wildlife and water quality. We work solely in the Town of Barnstable and have protected 1,023 acres in the seven villages.
• Cape Abilities serves individuals with disabilities through educating, counseling, providing residential, social, therapeutic and employment supports, so as to empower them to achieve meaningful and values roles in society.
• Cape Cod Center for Women is the only 24/7, confidential, emergency domestic violence shelter serving the Cape and Islands. Our compassionate community of staff, volunteers and supporters assists battered women and their children to escape violent homes and build new lives violence-free. We measure our success one family at a time. Since 2000 we have sheltered over 600 women and 1,500 children.
• Cape Cod Justice for Youth Collaborative builds coalitions of youth and families to prevent and reduce violence and trauma, substance abuse and incarceration for youth, through educational and restorative justice procedures.
• Cape Wildlife Center, a program of the Humane Society of the United States in partnership with the Fund for Animals, is one of only three major wildlife rehabilitation center in Massachusetts. It provides veterinary and rehabilitative care to nearly 2,000 injured, ill and orphaned animals annually, helps residents resolve human/animal conflicts and offers training in wildlife medicine and rehabilitation to wildlife professionals and veterinary students from around the world.
• Duffy Health Center ‘s mission is to prevent or end homelessness through the provision of medical, behavioral health, case management and housing services to persons who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
• Equal Exchange Fair Trade Coffee Project is an ongoing project of the Unitarian Church of Barnstable which purchases fair trade products from Equal Exchange, a worker-owned cooperative dedicated to fair trade, which then pays a percentage to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee – so your purchases count twice!
• Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod works in partnership with families in need, to build homes, hope, lives and community on Cape Cod. Founded in 1988 as an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, we have built homes in all fifteen towns of Cape Cod to provide the opportunity of affordable homeownership to families in situations of critical housing need.
• Independence House is the only comprehensive community-based resource on Cape Ciod, providing free and confidential services for families impacted by domestic and sexual violence.
• Massachusetts Audubon Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary Mass Audubon works to protect the nature of Massachusetts for people and wildlife. Locally, we manage the Ashumet Holly, Barnstable Great Marsh, Long Pasture and Skunknett River Sanctuaries.
• National Marine Life Center is an independent marine wildlife hospital and science and education center located in Bourne, Massachusetts. Our mission is to rehabilitate and release stranded marine mammals and sea turtles in order to advance science and education in marine wildlife and conservation.
• Sight Loss Services is a peer-based self-help human services organization OF and FOR the visually impaired.
• South Coastal Counties Legal Services, located at 460 West Main Street in Hyannis, has been providing free non-criminal, civil legal services to low-income and poor residents of Barnstable County since 1964. When vulnerable people face critical legal matters that threaten their quality-of- life, SCCLS responds by providing caring, competent, and free legal representation.
• Unitarian Universalist Service Committee is a nonsectarian organization that advances human rights and social justice in the United States and around the world. We envision a world free from oppression and injustice, where all can realize their full human rights. Through a combination of advocacy, education, and partnerships with grassroots organizations, UUSC promotes economic rights, advances environmental justice, defends civil liberties, and preserves the rights of people in times of humanitarian crisis.
• WE CAN For more than ten years, WE CAN has been dedicated to empowering Cape Cod women of all ages to successfully navigate challenging life transitions such as career change, job loss, illness, divorce or retirement. Whether the situation is acute or chronic, WE CAN helps – with information and referrals, mentoring, free legal services, one-to-one financial sessions, training and workshops – empowering women to achieve lasting positive change for themselves, their families and ultimately for the entire community.

This event is sponsored by the Unitarian Church of Barnstable’s Green Sanctuary and Social Justice Committees. For more information, contact ucbAGMteam@gmail.com or visit www.barnstableuu.org/events/AGM2013.html.