A Different Kind of Gift

Written by: Kate Snyder, Executive Assistant

Admit it. Not every gift you got this holiday season was “just what you’ve always wanted.” Aunt Mary’s taste in sweaters is appalling and the necktie from your in-laws just isn’t your style. And to be honest, you probably gave a few questionable gifts, too – did your co-worker really need (or want) yet another trinket for her house?

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could give a gift without having to worry about whether it’s the right size or the right color?

Well, the Middle School Service Committee (MSSC) at the Falk School is helping people do just that – and helping EECM at the same time.

Since 2004, the MSSC kids have offered an Alternative Gift Shop each holiday season. Alternative Gifts are gaining popularity around the country – maybe you’ve heard about people who gave or got chickens for Christmas or a water buffalo for Hanukkah. The premise is simple: instead of spending money on a tangible object, you make a donation to a charitable organization in honor of your giftee. You feel warm and fuzzy. They feel warm and fuzzy (and secretly relieved that you didn’t buy them a nose hair trimmer). And somewhere out there, a person in need has been helped. It’s cool.

The Falk School Gift Shop includes items like:

2 Meals at the Soup Kitchen
A New Picture Book for a Child
One Week of Meals for an Elderly Neighbor
Two Full Bags of Groceries

The students encourage their families and neighbors to purchase alternative gifts during the holidays, and they supply donors with a sweet holiday card, explaining the purchase that has been made and the group that is benefiting from it. Donors can then give these cards to whoever is receiving the gift.

And it’s lucrative! The Alternative Gift Shop has been raising 4-digit donations for EECM for several years, and its organizer estimates that this year the donations totaled more than $4,000.

I love alternative gifts in general but I find this project particularly inspiring because it involves young people. The holidays have become such a commercial time of year, with lots of focus on getting “stuff,” that it is refreshing to see a group of students instead focusing on philanthropy and trying to make a positive impact on their community.