Nonprofit Groups Offer Imaginative Alternative Holiday Gifts

It’s mid-December, and you’re still unsure what to get for your socially aware but hard-to-please sister. What to do?

You might try one of a range of alternative gifts available through nonprofit organizations in Orange County. Money spent on these gifts (which can be amazingly inexpensive) helps support a variety of worthy causes.

Third World Handarts in Orange (369 N. Anaheim Blvd., (714) 634-1685) buys handcrafts directly from 50 self-help cooperatives in 20 countries, including Turkey, Bangladesh, Thailand, Guatemala, El Salvador, Kenya and Botswana. The store also purchases hand-made items from the Appalachian region and from American Indian reservations.

Third World tries to sell its wares at the prices set by the artists themselves, although some markup is necessary to cover shipping, customs and other charges, according to Jim Shugg, chairman of the group’s board of directors. Most of the shop’s workers are volunteers, and grants cover rent and salaries. Merchandise is also sold through special appearances at Southern California churches and through the store’s catalogue.

Thirteen years ago, a small group of concerned people founded Third World, where embroidered bags, place mats, baskets, pieces of lace, wooden bowls, clay vases and other small items from Bangladesh, South Korea and the Philippines range from $2 to $10 each. Tie-dyed clothes and batik wall hangings from Africa can cost as little as $10 or as much as $85.

Woven blouses, skirts and jackets from Thailand and from Orange County Hmong artists range from $22 to $55. Guatemalan and Mexican dolls, wooden ornaments and clothing are $1.85 to $26.50. American Indian pottery, Appalachian wooden toys, quilted wall hangings and big Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls range from $3 to $115. Cards and some educational materials can also be purchased at the store, which is open every day but Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Not far from Third World, the United Nations Center in Santa Ana (2428 N. Grand Ave., (714) 542-9743) offers a similarly eclectic mixture. The store uses middlemen to acquire the crafts, rather than buying directly from the artists themselves. Store manager Fran Tschirgi says she tries whenever possible to get the story behind an item, and pass the tale on to the buyer.

It’s nearly impossible to leave the United Nations Center without buying something. Handblown glass pitchers, vases, bowls, paperweights and small animals from Spain cost $3.50 to $50. Colorful Guatemalan coin purses are $2 to $3.75. African carvings are priced as low as $3.25, with elaborate masks priced at up to $75. In the “blue and white section,” porcelain from all over the world includes a $14 ceramic jar from Thailand and a $36.75 fish-shaped caviar pot from the Soviet Union. Indian silk scarfs average $8.50 each, and intricately designed needlework cloths from Indonesian and Hmong workers are $12 to $50.

The center is run by the Orange County chapter of the United Nations Assn. of the U.S.A. The hand arts are sold in the Center’s main room, while the Center’s back room features books, cards and educational materials about U.N.-affiliated organizations.

Most of the chapter’s money after paying overhead expenses goes to UNICEF, a 43-year-old organization which works toward providing better nutrition, primary health care and basic education to mothers and children in underdeveloped countries. Frequently the chapter also votes to send funds to the U.N. Women’s Development Fund and to the U.N. High Commission for Refugees. Last year, Tschirgi said, the chapter sent more than $26,000 to UNICEF and made donations to the other agencies as well.

The store is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays (until 8 p.m. on Thursdays), and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

Another group with a Santa Ana office is CONCERN/America, an international hunger relief and development organization which sends professional volunteers to disaster and famine sites throughout the world, with a special emphasis on Mexico and Central America. CONCERN (2024 N. Broadway, 104, (714) 953-8575) is not zoned as a store but sells handcrafts through its catalogue, which can be requested by phone or picked up at the office. Decorative wooden crafts and clothing from El Salvador range from $1 to $60; Guatemalan clothing, bags and wall hangings are $4 to $45; Honduran candle holders, bowls and trays are $6 to $15. The CONCERN office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, and can be visited by appointment, although gift items are generally not on display.

If that hard-to-please sister might prefer that you make an outright donation on her behalf, you could contact the Alternative Christmas Giving Market of the Garden Grove United Methodist Church. Through this market, you can buy food for homeless people in Orange County and provide assistance to women in the YWCA Hotel for Women in Santa Ana. The Alternative Market also aids organizations like Habitat for Humanity (which builds low-cost housing for the poor), Heifer Project International (which buys live animals and ships them overseas to needy communities) and the Church World Service/United Methodist Committee on Relief.

With the Alternative Market, a 50-cent donation will pay for one bottle of oral rehydration therapy. A $25 donation will provide a hotel room for four homeless people for one night. Larger donations (around $500) will buy farm animals for overseas communities. Your gift will be acknowledged by a card you can give to that troublesome sister.

The Alternative Market is presently open only from 10 to 10:30 a.m. on Sundays, including Christmas Eve day, between services at the Methodist Church (12741 Main St., Garden Grove). However, you can also call Hannah Lafler, market coordinator, at (714) 991-5558 to arrange a donation.

Many nonprofit organizations sell less exotic gifts. For instance, the Alliance for Survival anti-nuclear organization offers T-shirts, cards and bumper stickers at its Santa Ana office (200 N. Main St., (714) 547-6282). The office is open during business hours but director Marion Pack suggests shoppers call before stopping by.

It’s too late for this year, but before next year’s holiday season you might think about shopping by catalogue and avoiding this last-minute rush. Many nonprofit groups offer catalogue sales--for instance, the Sierra Club (730 Polk St., San Francisco, CA 94109, (415) 923-5600).

One Houston-based nonprofit organization that works directly to alleviate Third World problems is Pueblo to People, (800) 843-5257. With its catalogue, Pueblo to People markets cards, clothing, jewelry, coffee, food and other items created by Central American self-help cooperatives. Prices range from $5 to $112, with most items under $30.

Penelope Moffet is a regular contributor to Orange County Life.