The Nea Community Learning Center’s Second Annual Green Holiday Bazaar, held today, December 13, is as unconventional as one might expect from the innovative school. There are no price tags, no purchases, no shopping for oneself. Instead, the bazaar is an eco-friendly, free gift shop where Nea students and their families can pick out donated items to give as gifts.
Hosted by the Nea PTSA and Green Team, “the event was started last year to bring more awareness to eco-friendly ways of gift-giving—and gift-wrapping—to our community, as well as providing means for families in our community with limited resources to be able to select gifts,” explained Sandra Calloway, Nea PTSA’s Vice President of Fundraising. Calloway emphasized that the holiday bazaar is not a fundraiser, but instead a fun resource for the Nea community.
Gently used items such as toys, games, books, household items were solicited from the Nea and greater Alameda community through the Alameda Buy Nothing and Freecycle sites. The donated/upcycled items were then sorted and organized into a holiday shopping bazaar, where Nea students and families were invited to select items—free of charge—to give as gifts to their friends and families.
“They don’t have to bring or donate items to shop. All items are free of charge and it’s free to enter,” Calloway said. “We wanted to make this event accessible to all and to de-emphasize the consumer/monetary aspect of gift giving. ”
Last year, the “green” bazaar saved hundreds of used items from being tossed into landfill, according to Calloway. And it’s not just the gifts that are good for the environment. “We also have eco-friendly gift-wrapping stations set up,” she added. “Nea parents and student volunteers from ACLC—Alameda Community Learning Center, our sister school serving students in grades 6 through 12—help our students decorate and wrap their gifts.”
Students used inked stamps and rollers to decorate brown Kraft paper or brown paper bags to create beautiful custom eco-friendly gift wrap that can easily be recycled. Much of the holiday gift wrap sold in stores is made of mixed materials and cannot be recycled, Calloway noted. The green bazaar uses jute, which is a natural fiber that can be recycled, as an alternative to holiday ribbons, most of which are made from plastics and cannot be recycled, she said.
