Sage Hill club’s GIFT fair raises $3,807 for domestic violence, human trafficking victims

Determined to help provide a brighter future to survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking, Amy Qin knew what she wanted to do the minute she heard about nonprofit Radiant Futures’ search for funding and its new project to facilitate residential housing for its clients.

“We wanted to pitch in and said, ‘Hey, we can have this fundraiser for you guys,’ and that’s how everything got started,” said Qin, a junior at Sage Hill School in Newport Beach and president of the Girls Impact for Tomorrow club.

The club, which Qin said started in 2017, initially focused on raising awareness for women’s rights internationally. The first project the group undertook was raising funds for an underresourced village in Hunan, China, by selling the village’s cross-stitch items.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic quickly blocked these efforts, but club members pivoted to publishing magazines online focusing on women’s rights issues around the globe.

About 30 vendors were present at the GIFT Fair on Saturday. About 30 to 40% were student vendors with the rest having been local small businesses.

(Courtesy of Amy Qin)

Qin said the club shifted its priorities this year closer to home. That’s when the idea for a fundraiser that would benefit the work of Radiant Futures began to take shape.

Organization took place in March, with Qin securing a venue in Hangar 24 in Irvine. Thirty different vendors gathered, with roughly 30% to 40% being student-operated and the balance comprising local small businesses.

Qin and other club members reached out through Instagram to market the GIFT Fair and also handed out fliers near Balboa Island.

Vendors were asked to donate at least 20% of their profits, though Qin said some offered to donate 100% to support the cause.

In total, $3,807 was raised during the event last Saturday, all of which was donated to the nonprofit on Monday.

“We came to realize this problem isn’t just out there in the world miles away from us, but it’s also around us, which is why we partnered with a local organization,” Qin said of the club’s decision to help Radiant Futures. “We all know there’s a problem with domestic abuse, but it is not far away. There is a way to help those people struggling that are in our community.”

Members from Sage Hill’s GIFT club and staff from Radiant Futures pose for a picture on Monday.

(Courtesy of Amy Qin)