St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church in Leesburg, Virginia earns some attention from the Washington Post
The church’s annual alternative gift fair opened last weekend with two days of shopping at the Founders Building in downtown Leesburg, and the campaign will continue by phone and on the Internet through Dec. 31. Since its inception in 2004, the event has raised more than $47,000 for Loudoun County charities.
The concept is simple. Shoppers browse a list of 13 local charities and the services each one can provide for a donation of $10, $25 or $50. Then the shopper makes a donation in the name of a friend or family member, either for one of those amounts or an amount of their choosing.
Details about the donation are written on small certificates printed on card stock. The gift-giver tucks the certificate into a holiday card, and the alternative gift is ready for giving.
Leesburg resident Christine Andary and her husband, John, came across the alternative gift fair by chance.
“We had gone down to the [Leesburg holiday] parade and weren’t even aware of the gift fair beforehand,” Christine Andary said Saturday. “We’re really big on trying to do business locally and to try to do donations locally . . . so we thought it was great.”
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The fair generated more than $14,000 over the weekend, and organizers hope to reach $30,000 by the end of the month.
Read it all here.
Read more about the concept at the St. Gabriel’s homepage.