2016 -2017 GIFT CAT TALOG

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Alt lternattiv ve Gifts International

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YEARS OF ALTERNATIVE GIFTS

Harriet Prichard, Founder of AGI, moved mountains to create a way for all of us to serve the millions in need around the world. She dedicated her life to serving others.

Dear Friend of the World, We began this journey as a humble mission, helmed by our founder Harriet Prichard, to share the wealth of the gift giving season with those less fortunate and to educate our children about the needs of the planet. While that journey began in 1980, AGI became an official nonprofit in 1986, and as you read this we are entering into our 30th year. Thanks to our donors, we’ve raised almost $29 million in those thirty years and have worked in over 100 countries and regions. Together we’ve helped victims of war and natural disasters get support, brought medicine to the sick, freed thousands of women and children from sexual slavery, educated children across the globe, and fed those with empty stomachs. The community we have built together has provided choices for those trapped in dire circumstances. But our work isn’t done. We must continue the fight on behalf of the 1.2 billion people* still living in extreme poverty. We’ve always been a small organization. An organization that prioritizes its partnerships and field work above all else and we’ve been able to keep our focus on our mission because of you—our generous, committed donors. We need you to continue the journey with us. Here’s to thirty more years of changing the world. Sincerely,

Tony Princ Executive Director

*Source: UN.org

Cover Photo by: Shaun Boyte, Plant With Purpose

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One of our early gift markets in 1987 at Pasadena Presbyterian, CA

Since 2004, gifts through AGI of over $180,243 have provided 2,313 people with, functional, durable wheelchairs. ~FREE WHEELCHAIR MISSION AGI’s partnership has enabled support for 10 backpack medic teams each year – serving more than 20,000 people with more than 4.2 million doses of medicine. Each child’s life saved is a joyous event. ~BURMA HUMANITARIAN MISSION

Here come the Llamas!  Solana Beach 2001 Gift Market

AGI supporters not only helped to improve the lives of over 5,000 Ethiopians, but they also contributed a social norm shift in support of girls’ education and against harmful practices like FGM (female genital mutilation). I continue to see the impact of this program. (2006 Project yr.) ~WALLELIGNE BERIYE, PCI ETHIOPIA Since 2001, gifts through AGI of over $573,000 have provided rescue and restoration for hundreds of individuals. IJM’s partnership with AGI is helping further a compelling mission: to rescue thousands, and prove that justice for the poor is possible. ~INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE MISSION Thanks to AGI's support, more farming families have been able to renew their land and transform their lives. Setieli Mashoko of Tanzania shares, “I have learned many things including organic agriculture technologies. I have seen an improvement in my life and in the lives of other group members.” ~PLANT WITH PURPOSE

Jeanette Clark, market volunteer – UPC

In 1989, the Rev. Sue Hamilton of University Presbyterian Church (UPC), San Antonio, TX, introduced the elders to the concept of an alternative gift market. Sue participated in several markets in California. The elders took a leap of faith and UPC’s first Gift Market was created. ~PATTI JEWETT & REV. SUE HAMILTON

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An alternative gift offers a unique way to do something about global issues like poverty, injustice and hunger while celebrating occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, and graduations. Giving a life-sustaining gift in honor of a friend or family member is a wonderful way to show you care without cluttering up their house with another knick-knack.

What is an Alternative Gift?

AGI COMMITMENT 90% of your gift goes directly to the projects.

WHAT DOES MY GIFT RECIPIENT RECEIVE? Your gift recipient will receive a greeting card of your choosing (see pages G & H) with a gift insert (see example) describing the cause you supported in their honor.

THREE WAYS TO ORDER HOW TO ORDER A GIFT

Alternativegifts.org

PHONE: 800.842.2243 ONLINE: www.alternativegifts.org MAIL: AGI, P.O. Box 3810 | Wichita, KS 67201

Browse through this catalog and use the order form (center pages) to note the projects you would like to support and indicate the greeting card style and quantity. Greeting cards are $2 each, $3 if inscribed and mailed to your gift recipient.

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Each year, hundreds of community groups join our mission and host an Alternative Gift Market (AGM). Whether a congregation, school, company, or simply a community organization, many people over the years have joined together to share AGI’s mission with their region. By hosting an alternative gift market, communities forge strong connections while helping people around the world.

About Alternative Gift Markets

STEPS TO HOST AN ALTERNATIVE GIFT MARKET

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RECRUIT

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INVITE

STEP STEP

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STEP

a volunteer planning committee

churches, schools, etc. to represent an AGI Project

PROMOTE your market to attract gift shoppers

INCREASE YOUR MARKET IMPACT!

The Market Experience is Now Online! Create & Customize an online fundraising page to combine with your onthe-ground market! For information Call 800.842.2243 or visit www.alternativegifts.org

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT GIFT MARKETS:

CALL: 1.800.842.2243 EMAIL: [email protected] REGISTER: alternativegifts.org and click on “Host a Market” 800.842.2243

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Build your own Crowdfund Online

Fundraisers are a great way to mark any special occasion. Celebrate a birthday, a wedding, or any reason you can think of to raise funds for the project you care most about. Corporations - Get involved! Customize your fundraising page with a company logo and even challenge your boss to match a fundraiser. Mark the holiday season or company milestones and employee successes by giving back through an AGI crowdfund.

Crowdfund with your: RUNNING GROUP

CLASSROOM

SEWING CLUB

OFFICE

Alternativegifts.org

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Create your customized Crowdfund in 2 Easy Steps AS A TEAM OR ON YOUR OWN, USE YOUR CREATIVITY AND NETWORK TO CHANGE THE WORLD!

STEP 1

It only takes a minute to set up a campaign. Decide what you want to do. Pick a name. Pick a photo. And you’re ready to help people in need.

STEP 2

Once your campaign is set up, tell everyone about it! Share your crowdfund on Facebook and Twitter or via email.

800.842.2243

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Greeting Cards Choose a beautiful greeting card to accompany your gift insert. ARTIST: REBECCA BRIDGES

ARTIST: STEPHANIE MARTENS

A1. LEAVES One touch of the nature makes the whole world kin.

A2.THE WORLD TREE The World is what we all have in common.

-William Shakespeare

~ Wendell Berry

Need help with your order? Give us a call at 800.842.2243 ARTIST: WADE HAMPTON

ARTIST: ADAM CRISPIN

ARTIST: LYNDA LEGG

A7. JOY OF HEAVEN Goods news from heaven the angels bring, Glad tidings to the earth they sing: To us this day a child is given, To crown us with the joy of heaven.

A14. VIEW FROM A OAXACAN ROOF

H2. PARTRIDGE Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.

Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy

MORE CARD CHOICES ON OUR WEBSITE Alternativegifts.org

~ Anne Frank

- Hamilton Wright Mabi

CARDS ARE $2 EACH. INSCRIBED CARDS $3.

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Gift Cards Great for holidays, birthdays, or saying “Thank you!” By purchasing a Pre-Paid Gift Card for your recipient, you let them choose the project(s) that speaks to them. Pre-Paid Gift Cards start at just $5!

Green Giving Send an e-Gift Card and reduce paper waste! An electronic gift card will be sent to your recipient via email.

Mail a Gift Card Order Gift Cards at alternativegifts.org or call us at 1.800.842.2243 and we will mail it for you. All transactions are safe and secure

800.842.2243

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Gifts Inspiring Change 2016 –2017 PROJECT LIST HUNGER RELIEF 1 2 3 4 5

Create a Small Family Farm – Haiti Start a Food Supply – Belize, Honduras, Panama Nourish the Hungry & Homeless – USA/Canada Green Grows the Garden – Haiti Milk & Cookies to End Malnutrition – Guatemala & Haiti

EDUCATION 6 7 8 9 10

Books for School Libraries - Ethiopia A Better Life for Orphans – Mexico Tutor A Child – The Philippines Give India’s Forgotten Children a Future – India Scholarships Bring Hope – Haiti

GENDER EQUALITY 11 12 13

A Future with Dignity for Dalit Women – India Help Her Build an Enterprise – Egypt Rescue & Restore Victims of Sex Trafficking - Dominican Republic, India

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Help a Girl Graduate! – Kenya

(Mumbai and Kolkata), The Philippines (Manila, Cebu and Pampanga)

HEALTH & WELL-BEING 15 16 17

Alternativegifts.org

Traveling Medics Save Lives – Burma (Myanmar) Bikes Bring Learning & Medicine – Kenya, Namibia, Tanzania & Zambia Safe Motherhood KitsTM – DR Congo, Haiti, S. Sudan

J We have designed our project categories to align with the new Sustainable Global Goals (SDG) developed by the United Nations. For more info about the goals visit: sustainabledevelopment.un.org

Global Projects

Check out more information about these causes on our partner websites (see page K)

*AGI Projects 21 & 22 cause the number sequence to skip in this category

HEALTH & WELL-BEING* 18 19 20 23

Wheelchairs for Independence & Dignity – Global Care & Compassion for AIDS victim – Swaziland Blankets, Coats and Socks for Children – Tibetan Plateau, China Get Children Moving with Leg Braces! – DR Congo

AGI PROJECTS 21 22

Where Needed Most – Global Support Our Work – Global

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY 24 25 26 27

Fresh Water Wells – S. Sudan Protect the Orangutan’s Home – Indonesia/Asia Pacific Restore the Land, Feed a Family – Tanzania Plant a Tree for Me – Haiti

GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP 28 29 30

Help Refugee Women & Children in Crisis – Syria’s Border Countries Trained Teachers = Better Students – Global Giving Hope through Micro-loans – Guatemala, Haiti, India, Moldova, Peru, South Africa, Sri Lanka, The Philippines, Uganda, Zambia

800.842.2243

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Haiti

Create a Small Family Farm

Good nutrition is one of the most important parts of a child’s early development, but many Haitian families continue to struggle with hunger and A small family farm poverty. Protein rich foods are not easily provides income, accessible, leading to malnutrition in onestability and hope for third of women and children. poor Haitian families. Community Coalition for Haiti (CCH) works to transform lives through a long-term, community driven, sustainable approach to hunger and poverty. Goats, turkeys and bees produce diverse products that are highly valued. This project teaches families to care for and breed animals, which go on to provide nutritious food. Families are able to support their households and contribute to the community. Each family must “pay it forward” by passing on livestock to other poor families, or selling them to support the local school. $99 Help a family start a farm (a goat, a trio of turkeys or a beehive)

$28 A share of livestock & training

PHOTO CREDIT CCH

BIRTHDAY CROWDFUND: A complete family farm (goats, turkeys, beehive) $1,080 Alternativegifts.org

HUNGER RELIEF

Belize, Honduras, Panama

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In Central America, soil depleted by decades of slash-and-burn farming leaves families with little to no resources. Many families live on Help families cultivate a very limited diet of one or two their own nutritious basic foods – not nearly enough to food and crops to provide the nutrition necessary to bring to market. maintain good health. Sustainable Harvest International teaches families how to grow a diverse food supply and marketable crops through a hands-on five phase program teaching organic gardening and how to raise chickens. This program also helps install environmentally friendly stoves which use 50% less wood than traditional stoves and reduce the amount of smoke and $110 Build a chicken carbon in the home. Families improve their nutrition coop levels, become self-sufficient, and overcome poverty. $55 A

Start a Food Supply

kitchen garden (growing peppers, tomatoes, cassava, yuca) for one family

PHOTO CREDIT: SUSTAINABLE HARVEST INT’L

NEW HOME CROWDFUND: Builds a wood conserving stove $550 HUNGER RELIEF

800.842.2243

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united states, Canada

Nourish the Hungry & Homeless

Help stock food banks so families facing hardship won’t go hungry. In 2015, 1 out of 6 American households answered “Yes” when asked the question: Have there been times in the past 12 months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed? Many families face hardships for all kinds of reasons, including job loss or illness. Through Alternative Gift International’s (AGI) food pantry and homeless shelter program, you can help struggling families throughout the USA and Canada. Life can change in an instant and anyone might find themselves forced to ask for help. By providing groceries, you’re helping a family get back on their feet. *Source: www.frac.org/food hardship report 2015

PHOTO BY: SHUTTERSTOCK/SLAVA SAMUSEVICH

$55 Groceries for a family (of 5) for 1 week

$6 Groceries for 1 person for 1 day

HOST A FUNDRAISING DINNER: Feed a Family for 8 weeks $440 Alternativegifts.org

HUNGER RELIEF

Haiti

Green Grows the Garden

When communities are taught to grow food, they begin to create a sustainable, long-term food source for themselves.

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On Haiti’s island of La Gonave, deforestation and unsustainable farming practices have contributed to a decline in local food production. The PHOTO CREDIT: BB island is isolated and accessing food from the mainland involves extreme hardship and a long journey for the island’s residents. Families face a daily reality of hunger and malnutrition is prevalent. Beyond Borders (BB) supports schools, families, and community groups in teaching gardening skills. They provide the materials needed to plant and maintain $129 Fruit & vegetable seeds to growth of varied vitamin-rich foods. New grow a garden (incl. sustainable farming techniques and fruit tree training) nurseries bring hope for communities to be $22 Teach a family, self-sustaining in the future.

school or community how to grow food

SCHOOL CROWDFUND: Grows 10 gardens (incl. training, tools & seeds) $1,290 HUNGER RELIEF

800.842.2243

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Guatemala, Haiti

Milk & Cookies to End Malnutrition

With proper nutrition these children can become healthy and thrive. Haiti and Guatemala have some of the highest rates of malnutrition. Children under the age of five with malnourished mothers are the most vulnerable group. Many are born with medical complications and continue in a life of undernourishment that impacts their growth, development, immune systems, learning and memory. Partners in Development (PID) has tailored this project to fit each child’s needs. This might mean specially formulated nutritional cookies packed with protein and vitamins, or daily cooked meals. Wislain (pictured) $22 Milk & nutritious suffered severe PHOTO CREDIT: PID cookies for two malnourishment and malnourished children received treatment for two years to get for a week to a healthy weight. Children are seen $14 One clinic visit for a by medical staff free of charge. Their malnourished child (incl. lives are transformed as they are able to medication and lab work) thrive and grow. GIRL SCOUT CROWDFUND: Lifesaving surgery for a baby born with medical complications $770 Alternativegifts.org

HUNGER RELIEF

etHioPia

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Books for School Libraries

In southern Ethiopia, youth literacy is under 45% and academic performance and primary school Give the gift of literacy by completion rates are poor. sending books to rural Many of these children have Ethiopian children. never even seen a book. Ethiopia Reads (ER) supports literacy projects by establishing libraries, building schools, and $70 Send developing innovative literacy programs in the 25 books city and in rural areas. Equipped with books, $14 Send 5 “horse-powered” libraries travel to rural villages to books put books into the hands of children.

PHOTO CREDIT: ER

PHOTO CREDIT: ER

CLASSROOM CROWDFUND: Stock a library with books $825 QUALITY EDUCATION

800.842.2243

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mexiCo

A Better Life for Orphans “When I was 10 years old and I came to Kids Kingdom I didn’t know anything … I learned to read and write and to play sports.  I would like to study architecture in college to become an architect.”

~Raul

The Kid’s Kingdom orphanage provides abandoned, neglected children with stability, love and support they need to thrive. When Raul and his little sister, Alejandra (pictured), arrived at Kids Kingdom orphanage in Ensenada, Mexico, he had never attended a day of school. Raul was robbed of any kind of childhood after his father abandoned them and his mother passed away. At age 10, Raul became the head of the household and took care of his sister, Alejandra who has muscular dystrophy.  $44 Feed a A local church brought Raul and Alejandra to Kid’s child for one month Kingdom and gave them a chance to experience childhood. International Relief Teams (IRT) is $11 Educate committed to helping vulnerable children like these, one child for one month so they can have a chance at a successful future. PHOTO CREDIT: KID’S KINGDOM

BIRTHDAY CROWDFUND: A college semester for a HS graduate $500 Alternativegifts.org

QUALITY EDUCATION

tHe PHiliPPines

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There are wide disparities in income and quality of life across the Philippines. Poverty rates In overcrowded classrooms, remain high with over 26% of access to one-on-one tutoring the total population living below can be the difference between the poverty line. Children from lifelong poverty and a the poorest families attend successful future. severely overcrowded public schools which impede academic progress. The average classroom has a teacher to student ratio of 1:55. $28 Three tutorial Pearl S. Buck Foundation’s (PSB) tutoring program sessions for gives children access to one-on-one tutors. During a one child tutoring session, a child can ask questions, receive $10 One focused attention, and gain confidence in their ability tutorial to learn. Their improved academic performance will session for better position these disenfranchised children for a child success, both academically and in the workplace.

Tutor A Child

PHOTO CREDIT: PSB

CLASS CROWDFUND: Tutorial sessions for 200 kids $1,815 QUALITY EDUCATION

800.842.2243

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Give India’s Forgotten Children a Future

india

Without help, the odds of survival for India’s street children are grim.

There are many reasons a child ends up living on the streets. In India, children might escape to the streets to be free of abuse or neglect, or they might be abandoned by their caregivers. A lack of access to adequate food and shelter leaves them extremely vulnerable to disease and further abuse. Project Concern International (PCI) helps keep children off the streets through its shelter home and vocational training center. By providing life skills training, education and healthcare, children are prepared to attend public schools. Vocational training equips young adults, primarily girls, with the skills they need to pursue postsecondary education and secure apprenticeships and formal employment. For the past 15 years, this program has transformed the lives of more than 60,000 of $72 Food and India’s most vulnerable children and youth. emergency shelter for one street kid for one month

$28 Life skills education for 10 street children

PHOTO CREDIT: PCI

NEW JOB CROWDFUND: 6 month vocational training for 5 young women $479 Alternativegifts.org

QUALITY EDUCATION

Haiti

Scholarships Bring Hope

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Private schools are the only reliable option for children in Haiti, which means very few families can afford to educate their children.

In Haiti, private schools are the only option available to children, and very few families can afford the tuition. Haiti’s rural population lives in dire poverty. Parents recognize the only way out of poverty for future generations is through education, but necessities like food and shelter must take priority over school fees for these poor families. The Haiti Education Foundation (HEF) $83 Scholarship for 1 helps rural Haitian youth gain access to child for 1 year education through scholarships. Education $39 School supplies is a gift that multiplies. Your gift will for 1 child (incl. books educate a child who can improve his/her life & uniform) and positively impact their community.

PHOTO CREDIT: HEF

BIRTHDAY CROWDFUND: Scholarships for 10 students for one year $825 QUALITY EDUCATION

800.842.2243

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india

A Future with Dignity for Dalit Women

Girls born into India’s lowest social class, the Dalit (Untouchables) have three strikes against them. First, they are born in rural areas. Second, they are outcast by society. The A sewing machine and tailoring types of jobs Dalits may hold lessons can give Dalit women a are the least desirable and dignified trade. worst paid. Third, according to India’s most recent census, less than half of India’s female population age 15 and older, continue their education. $110 Tailoring schools supported by India Partners (IP), A sewing give Dalit women the opportunity to learn the valuable skill of sewing. Unlike mothers who work 12 machine for a new hours a day in the fields, a home-based sewing graduate business enables a mother to care for her children, $21 while still earning a decent living wage. Sewing lessons for 1 woman for 1 month

PHOTO CREDIT: IP

SEWING CLUB CROWDFUND: Sewing machines for 12 women $1,320 Alternativegifts.org

GENDER EQUALITY

eGyPt

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Help Her Build an Enterprise

In recent years, Egypt has struggled with growing economic challenges, rising poverty, and an unemployment rate as high as Help a woman start a 40%. Egyptian women have business and begin her suffered the hardest blows. Global journey out of poverty. reports rank Egypt 131 out of 142 countries when it comes to female economic participation and opportunities due to $154 gender discrimination and lack of access to A business resources. The unemployment rate has reached 71% loan & financial for young women. literacy Hands Along the Nile Development Service training for a (HANDS) targets female-headed households in woman urban Cairo and rural Egypt, with a goal to alleviate $28 poverty and reduce gender inequality. By receiving loans and financial literacy training, women can start small enterprises and improve the quality of life for themselves, their families and communities.

Supplies to start a beauty salon

PHOTO CREDIT: HANDS

NEW HOME CROWDFUND: Help a woman open a grocery market $500 GENDER EQUALITY

800.842.2243

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dominiCan rePuBliC, india (MuMBAi & KoLKATA), tHe PHiliPPines (MAniLA, CeBu & PAMPAnGA)

Rescue & Restore Victims of Sex Trafficking

PHOTO CREDIT: IJM

Throughout the developing world, the threat of violence is a part of everyday life for the poor. Sex trafficking is a particularly devastating threat to millions of the world’s poor. Help rescue and restore Today, there are an estimated victims and bring two million children exploited perpetrators to justice. in the commercial sex trade worldwide. Sex trafficking is most pervasive in countries with broken justice systems, where perpetrators know they will not face any significant consequences for their crimes. $55 Help rescue a International Justice Mission (IJM) works sex trafficking alongside local authorities on targeted anti-sex victim trafficking projects. They work to rescue $33 An aftercare victims, bring criminals to justice, provide package for a counseling to survivors, and strengthen justice survivor of sex systems to create a safe future that lasts. trafficking (clothing, toiletries, comfort toys for young survivors)

HOST A FUNDRAISING EVENT: Funds one sex trafficking rescue operation $6,930 Alternativegifts.org

GENDER EQUALITY

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Kenya

Help a Girl Graduate!

In Kenya, cultural practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM) put education further out of reach for girls. When a girl graduates Extreme poverty prevents 65% of she is empowered to students from completing school. change her life and the The challenge is even greater for lives of those around her. girls from nomadic communities and tribes who are some of Kenya’s most desperately poor citizens and where female education is not valued. Less than 10% of girls from nomadic communities and tribes make it to high school. $70 One Kenya Education Fund (KEF) believes these girls month of can become change makers in their communities high school and beyond, and gives nomadic girls access to for a girl education. Students attend boarding schools $58 School where they receive a safe, stable and quality supplies and education. clothes for PHOTO CREDIT: KEF

one girl

TEACHER’S DAY CROWDFUND: Send a girl to high school (1 year) $750 GENDER EQUALITY

800.842.2243

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Burma (MyAnMAr)

Traveling Medics Save Lives Medic teams travel to dangerous areas in Burma to save the lives of refugees.

For years, the Burmese military has targeted and tried to eliminate minority communities like the Karen, in east Burma. Over 1 million people have been displaced, forced to flee their homes, and leave their possessions behind to seek sanctuary in the jungles. Isolated and without medical care, 1 in 10 infants do not survive to their 1st birthday and 1 in 12 mothers will not survive childbirth. Burma Humanitarian Mission (BHM) helps equip medics to treat sick and PHOTO CREDITS: BHM injured isolated villagers, and internally displaced persons in hiding. The army’s continued military attacks in northern Burma cause thousands of villagers to flee each month. The goal of the project is to provide 1.2 million doses of $9 Backpack filled medicine and with medicine for a 60,000 pieces of team (1 day supply) medical supplies to support 16 total medic teams. $1 35 doses of With this support, we can reduce infant, child medicine and maternal mortality by 50 -75%. MED SCHOOL GRADUATE CROWDFUND: Medic team supplies for a year $330 Alternativegifts.org

HEALTH & WELL-BEING

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Kenya, namiBia, tanzania, zamBia

Bikes Bring Learning & Medicine In remote villages, a bike ensures the sick can be reached for medical care and students can reach school.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the lack of transport is a critical impediment to accessing healthcare and education. In remote villages, where the nearest clinic can be 12 miles away, families try to make do without. In a place where the average HIV infection rate in villages can exceed 30%, access to healthcare is critical. Likewise, children and teachers struggle to travel to school on a consist basis. The most marginalized in this equation are women and children. Bicycles for Humanity (BFH) is changing the world two wheels at a time. Bikes can be used by healthcare workers to $110 reach patients needing care, but too distant from Send 3 bikes the nearest clinic. They also allow children and $39 their teachers to attend school every day. PHOTO CREDITS: BFH

Send 1 bike

OFFICE CROWDFUND: one shipping container filled with 150 bikes $3,300 HEALTH & WELL-BEING

800.842.2243

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dr ConGo, Haiti, s. sudan

Safe Motherhood KitsTM

In developing countries, the difference between life and death for an expectant mother and her baby can be a Safe Motherhood KitTM.

Every minute, a woman dies from complications of pregnancy or childbirth. According to the World Health Organization, for every woman who dies in childbirth, 20 more suffer injury, infection or disease— and their children suffer with them. An IMA World Health (IMA) Safe Motherhood Kit™ provides clean and sterile birthing supplies to expectant mothers in developing countries— where unsafe birthing conditions in tent cities and makeshift clinics contribute to high infant and maternal mortality rates. Every mother and child deserves a safe birth. Each Safe Motherhood Kit™ contains essential clean and sterile supplies including gloves, an umbilical tie, a scalpel, gauze pads, plastic sheeting, a bar of soap, a washcloth and baby supplies (a hat, tunic and blanket) to keep the newborn infant warm.

PHOTO CREDIT: IMA

$110 Four Safe Motherhood KitsTM for expectant mothers and their babies

$28 One Safe Motherhood KitTM for an expectant mother and her baby

NEW BABY CROWDFUND: A delivery bed $1,100 Alternativegifts.org

HEALTH & WELL-BEING

GloBal

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Wheelchairs for Independence a disabled person, a wheelchair means & Dignity Tofreedom to engage in the community.

According to the World Health Organization, over 100 million disabled people need a wheelchair, but do not have the means to obtain one. Over 80% of these disabled individuals live in developing countries. The disabled poor are forced to crawl, must wait to be carried, or remain bedridden. They are dependent on others for basic needs. Families in poverty strain to care for PHOTO CREDITS: FWM disabled loved ones. Free Wheelchair Mission (FWM) provides wheelchairs, free of charge, to disabled individuals and their families. Since 2001, FWM has placed over 937,100 wheelchairs in 93 $172 countries across the globe, with a goal of placing Sends 2 one million wheelchairs by 2017. The Wheelchairs wheelchairs are life-changing, not only because $86 they provide mobility, but they allow a disabled Send 1 person to participate fully in society—giving Wheelchair independence, hope and dignity. GRADUATION CROWDFUND: Send 70 wheelchairs $5,986 HEALTH & WELL-BEING

800.842.2243

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swaziland

Care & Compassion for AIDS victims Help bring support to those afflicted with HIV/AIDS.

Swaziland has the highest HIV prevalence rate in the world at over 27%*. Those afflicted, particularly women, face societal prejudice and do not have access to adequate care and support. Many of the victims are children born HIV positive and have been orphaned due to AIDS. Nazarene Compassion Ministries’ (NCM) Swaziland HIV/AIDS program provides the sick and their families with a holistic support system focused on improving the physical and mental health of patients. Your gift will help trained care-givers maintain and promote patient well-being and curb the spread of HIV through education. *Source: USAID.org – The Gap PHOTO CREDIT: NCMI

$33 One caregiver for an HIV/AIDS orphan for 1 month

$17 Medicine for an HIV/AIDS patient for 1 year

BIRTHDAY CROWDFUND: A community garden for 60 people with HiV/AiDS $440 Alternativegifts.org

HEALTH & WELL-BEING

tiBetan Plateau, CHina

Blankets, Coats and Socks for Children

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Warm clothes and a cozy blanket can help rural children stay focused on learning in a cold climate. High on the Tibetan plateau, the poorest villagers live on less than $100 a year. Rural children are often sent to boarding schools due to the vast distances between villages. Many arrive to school with little more than the clothes on their backs, their hands and feet chapped red due to the extreme cold—which can reach as low as -13F in the winter. Love Without Boundaries (LWB) works with schools in this region to ensure that students are given access to healthy living and learning conditions by providing items to combat the frigid winter conditions. LWB has contracted with local sheep herders and tailors to purchase wool to be made into mattresses and traditional $55 Complete Tibetan coats warmth kit for 1 called zhubas, Tibetan child which also serve (socks, coat/ as a blanket, blanket, mattress) and provide $21 One wool protection against mattress for a the harsh child PHOTO CREDIT: LWB winters. BABY SHOWER CROWDFUND: Socks, coats/blankets & mattresses for an entire school $5,500 HEALTH & WELL-BEING

800.842.2243

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GloBal

Where Needed Most

Even the smallest project can help break the cycle of global poverty.

Each of our projects address a real, vital need in the world. Important projects, however, can often be overlooked. AGI’s Where Needed Most fund helps support the projects that don’t receive the attention they deserve. By funding this project, you're supporting thousands of people struggling to be seen around the globe. 

$25 One share to boost lesser funded projects

PHOTO CREDIT: ©VIKRAM RAGHUVANSHI

Alternativegifts.org

AGI PROJECTS

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GloBal

PHOTO CREDIT: © STOCK PHOTO ID:6886178/POCO_BW

Support AGI’s Work

We work to improve the world, one gift at a time.

Each year, AGI works hard to select projects around the world that will help address a number of global problems. Each project represents a relationship and vetting that we’ve pursued tirelessly. Since we take just 10% of what you give to projects, we need your help to continue our work. We want to change the world and we can only do it with your help. AGI PROJECTS

$20 Support of AGI’s Continued Mission 800.842.2243

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dr ConGo

Get Children Moving with gift of leg braces to a disabled Leg Braces! The child provides a chance to participate socially and in school.

Families of physically disabled children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) can rarely afford the surgery, special medical equipment, and therapy needed to enable their children to walk. Often these children are left at home and ostracized by their community since they cannot walk, attend school, and contribute to society. StandProud (SP) works to equip these children with leg braces and the finances needed to support primary education for disabled Congolese children. When a child attains maximum $33 One set of mobility, they have replacement leg hope and dignity braces for a which comes from child receiving the same $11 educational Replacement opportunities as shoes for a other children. child's leg brace PHOTO CREDITS: SP

GRADUATION CROWDFUND: Pre-bracing surgery, straps and shoes for 1 child $440 Alternativegifts.org

HEALTH & WELL-BEING

s.sudan

Fresh Water Wells

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Access to fresh, clean water is a basic human right.

PHOTO CREDITS: WFSS

South Sudan, the world’s newest country struggling for democracy, is also one of the world’s poorest countries. The basic human need for access to clean, safe water is not being met for people living in remote, rural villages. The role of fetching water lies with the women and girls who walk miles to gather water from the only sources available— polluted streams and rivers.  Water for South Sudan (WFSS) works in the most remote areas, bringing fresh water wells to those living in extreme poverty. There is very little electricity and even dirt roads are often nonexistent. WFSS is also committed to the inclusion of all people in its work and to make clean water and improved $110 Supplies hygiene to install a accessible to all, water well (incl. while honoring pipes, drilling the privacy and equipment, dignity of all pump) the people they $55 One water serve. pump BIRTHDAY CROWDFUND: Fresh clean water for a village (50 people) $550 ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

800.842.2243

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indonesia/asia PaCifiC

Protect the Orangutan’s Home

Protecting rainforests is our best defense from the effects of a rapidly changing climate.

PHOTO CREDIT: THE NATURE CONSERVANCY (KATIE HAWK)

Indonesia’s tropical rainforest is very important for $20 our planet: It provides oxygen for us to breathe, it helps Conserves 10 acres of the cool the planet, and it is home to one of the most Orangutan’s endangered primates on Earth—the Orangutan. More Forest than 80% of the world’s Orangutans rely on Indonesia’s $2 Conserve lush tropical rainforest for survival. The forest is also 1 acre of the home to rural communities who depend on it for food Orangutan’s and medicine. Industrial timber mining and the rapidly Forest growing palm oil industry are destroying Indonesia’s rainforest faster than anywhere on earth, which will impact 99% of ape habitat in Asia at the current rate of development by 2030. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) works to protect 25 million acres of Orangutan forest. With your support, they can create healthy forests and protect Orangutans by preserving their natural habitat. Protecting these forests is humankind’s best opportunity to safeguard all from the escalating effects of climate change and ensuring the survival of the Orangutan. NEW HOME CROWDFUND: Conserves 400 acres of the orangutan’s Forest $800 Alternativegifts.org

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

tanzania

Restore the Land, Feed a Family

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Help families grow their own food and produce income.

Families in rural Tanzania rely on what they can grow to put food on the table and generate income. However, most families are struggling to survive as deforestation and environmental degradation have reduced the land’s ability to produce. In Tanzania, 42% of children under age five suffer from chronic under-nutrition.* Plant With Purpose (PWP) works with rural farmers near Mt. Kilimanjaro. The farmers, who are primarily women, are given resources to grow organic, bio-intensive gardens that improve family nutrition and grow marketable produce to sell. *Source: (USAID)

$22 Equips a farming family to build an organic garden (incl. tools, vegetable seeds and training)

$11 Provides seeds for a family’s garden (incl. veg seeds – kale, spinach, and other leafy greens)

PHOTO CREDIT: PWP

NEW JOB CROWDFUND: Fund a “land restoration” project (for 20-30 people) $5,500 ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

800.842.2243

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Haiti

Plant a Tree for Me Restore trees and the Haitian people’s hope for the future. Haiti has lost 95% of its tree canopy, which has had devastating effects on the local environment. Most notably, the region’s fertile topsoil has been washed away. Locals now struggle to produce sufficient food for their families. Communities have identified reforestation as the primary need. The Quixote Center (QC) approaches this issue with the long term health of the region in mind. Residents are taught the role trees play in the environment, including their impact on agriculture. Their strategy also includes caring for several tree nurseries, planting trees, and distributing seedlings to local residents and schools. They also care for a model forest and train local students and farmers in sustainable agriculture techniques.

$55 Plant 50 trees

$28 Plant 25 trees

PHOTO CREDIT: QC

OFFICE CROWDFUND: Plant 1,000 trees $1,100 Alternativegifts.org

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

syria’s Border Countries

Help Refugee Women and Children in Crisis

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"One of the worst things about being a refugee is feeling invisible. If something horrible happened to me, no one would know about it." ~Syrian woman refugee helped by MADRE

PHOTO CREDIT: MEENA LENN/MADRE

As insecurity and violence continue to cause displacement within Syria and across the region, more than 4 million Syrian’s are registered as refugees, the world’s $66 Art supplies largest refugee population since the end of World and counseling for one year for War II. Women, who account for the majority of Syrian refugees, are disproportionately affected by 10 Syrian refugee such displacement because they are left to care for children $7 A week’s the most vulnerable, including children. Syrian children face an uncertain future — most have not supply of food for a Syrian refugee received any education for the last four years and family are at risk of becoming a “lost generation.” MADRE, in partnership with the Syrian Women’s League (SWL), is supporting a school in Al Biqa, Lebanon where refugee women and children are provided an education, art therapy, psychosocial support, access to health services and the skills they need to create a stable future. NEW HOME CROWDFUND: Healthcare for 100 Syrian refugee women & children $424 GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP

800.842.2243

Trained Teachers = Better Students “There are only two ways our children can escape poverty: at their funeral, or through education.”

In rural areas of developing countries, children cannot get a quality education even at the most basic, foundational level of preschool or elementary school— especially girls.

~a village elder

View sample lessons at: teachforlife.org/lessons.php Alternativegifts.org

GloBal PartnersHiP

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PHOTO CREDIT: TFL

Teach for Life (TFL) has developed a system to overcome that obstacle. Utilizing new technologies, TFL develops and shares digital teacher training lessons through on-theground networks in developing countries. This system enables highly trained and skilled teachers to share their knowledge with teachers in need of training—in their native language.

Train teachers in global classrooms

People around the world are joining talents in this initiative—motivated by a simple but powerful vision: to break the chains of poverty through education! 800.842.2243

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Guatemala, Haiti, india, moldova, Peru, soutH afriCa, sri lanKa, tHe PHiliPPines, uGanda, zamBia

Giving Hope through Micro-loans

To a person living in poverty, a micro-loan is life transforming.

Imagine living on $2 or less per day. Over 3 billion in our world do. The vast majority of the poor don’t want a handout – they want to be able to maintain their dignity and provide for their families. Microloans offer that opportunity. PEER Servants has been partnering for 25 years with indigenous micro-finance institutions around the world. Luxala’s (pictured) family lost everything as refugees in Sri Lanka’s long civil war. Then her husband died and Luxala was left to take care of their three small children. With the help of a micro-loan she opened a small grocery store, and repaid the loan. She has $110 since used more micro-loans to expand her A start up business. Now she can provide for her children micro-loan and afford to educate them. $55 One Share of a micro-loan

PHOTO CREDIT: PEER SERVANTS

NEW BUSINESS CROWDFUND: A group start-up loan for 5 women $550 Alternativegifts.org

GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP

Partner Websites 2016-2017 PARTNER

K

PROJECT WEB ADDRESS

Community Coalition for Haiti

P1

www.cchaiti.org

Sustainable Harvest International

P2

www.sustainableharvest.org

Beyond Borders

P4

www.beyondborders.net

Partners In Development

P5

www.pidonline.org

Ethiopia Reads

P6

www.ethiopiareads.org

International Relief Teams

P7

www.irteams.org

Pearl S. Buck International

P8

www.pearlsbuck.org

PCI

P9

www.pciglobal.org

Haiti Education Foundation

P10

www.haitifoundation.org

India Partners

P11

www.indiapartners.org

HANDS

P12

www.handsalongthenile.org

International Justice Mission

P13

www.ijm.org

Kenya Education Fund

P14

www.kenyaeducationfund.org

Burma Humanitarian Mission

P15

www.burmamission.org

Bicycles for Humanity

P16

www.b4hcolorado.org

IMA World Health

P17

www.imaworldhealth.org

Free Wheelchair Mission

P18

www.freewheelchairmission.org

Nazarene Compassion Ministries

P19

www.ncmi.org

Love Without Boundaries

P20

www.lovewithoutboundaries.com

Stand Proud

P23

www.standproud.org

Water for South Sudan

P24

www.waterforsouthsudan.org

The Nature Conservancy

P25

www.nature.org

Plant With Purpose

P26

www.plantwithpurpose.org

Quixote Center

P27

www.quixote.org

MADRE

P28

www.madre.org

Teach For Life

P29

www.teachforlife.org

PEER Servants

P30

www.peerservants.org 800.842.2243