Alternative Christmas Fair Goes Virtual for 2020

For 38 years the University Baptist and Brethren Church at 411 S. Burrowes St. in State College, has been the site of the Alternative Christmas Fair, an opportunity to give gifts of charitable contributions to nonprofit organizations in honor of others. Of course this year, the fair will be a little different.

ACF is going virtual for 2020 and will take place over two weeks starting Sunday

This year has presented challenges in the ways we work, learn, play and live our lives. COVID-19 has slugged and beaten many small businesses and in some cases, closed them forever. Nonprofits — needed now more than ever — have also had to find new ways to raise funds for the entities they help.

“This is my third year as chair, and it will be so different,’ said ACF chair Gail Addison Guss. ‘Instead of inviting all the organizations to gather at the United Baptist and Brethren Church’s Fellowship Hall, we are holding an online Alternative Christmas Fair.

The fair will take place from Sunday through Dec. 20. A kickoff event will be held from 10:30-11:30 a.m. with a live forum on Zoom. Ann Ard (Centre Safe), Curt Knouse (Interfaith Human Services), Morgan Wasikonis (Housing Transitions) and Suelynn Shiller (Meals on Wheels) will provide information on the agencies they serve and the community needs that must be met.

To attend the special event, send a request for the Zoom link here. Those who regularly attend UBBC Zoom church services, do not need to request the link and can simply stay online after services to join the forum.

In its first 37 years, the ACF raised $743,828.71 for local, national and international charities. Last year, a typical year, more than $40,000 was raised, according to an email from Richard Jones, publicity chair of the 2020 Alternative Christmas Fair.

This year, shoppers will have an opportunity to give to 30 different local, national, and international charities with one donation by check or credit card. Information about donating online or by mail with a check, along with descriptions of each of the charities, is available at ubbcwelcome.org/alternative-christmas-fair-2020-participating-charities.

Charities being served through this year’s fair are: Center for Alternatives in Community Justice, Centre County PAWS, Centre Safe, Centre County Youth Service Bureau, Centre Helps, Centre LGBTQA Support Network, CentrePeace, Centre Region Down Syndrome Society, Centre Volunteers in Medicine, Centre Wildlife Care, Church World Service, Clearwater Conservancy of Central PA, Dyslexia Reading Center of Central PA, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Centre County, Heifer International, Hope International Services, House of Care, Housing Transitions, Inc., Interfaith Human Services, Jana Marie Foundation, Mid-State Literacy Council, Inc., Out of the Cold, Park Forest Preschool, Pennsylvania Interfaith Power and Light, PA Prison Society Centre County Chapter, Save the Children, State College Food Bank, State College Meals on Wheels, Ten Thousand Villages and Tides Program.

The Centre Region Down Syndrome Society, 10,000 Villages, Pa. Prison Society Centre County Chapters and Dyslexia Reading Center of Central Pa. are all new to the ACF this year.

All the money raised will go to support the various charities that are included in the virtual ACF.

For questions contact [email protected] and to access the online fair, visit www.ubbcwelcome.org/acf.