Christmas, as we have all been told, has been reduced to material comforts–presents under the tree, stampede-worthy deals on Black Friday and the promise of release from the financial and emotional stress of the holidays. The Whitman Alternative Gifts Market offers, well, an alternative to this ruckus.

“[We’re] turning the material gift thing on its head a little bit,” said Alternative Gifts organizer Lena Menard. “[We’re] focusing on spending time together and doing things that  help to make the world a little  better place . . . [there is] sometimes a better way. . . than trying to figure out what stuff somebody wants or might want to exchange into a different size and color after the holidays.”

The Alternative Gifts Market is a program that allows one to make to donations to various organizations in lieu of giving a physical gift. Run through the Whitman Community Service Office for the past ten years, this program brings in a whole world of presents beyond your average stocking stuffer. At the market, you can buy a donation in someone’s name, and they receive a card with a short explanation of the cause.

Some gift offerings affect the community directly. Menard said that students can sponsor a bus pass for somebody who isn’t able to afford one, help provide school supplies for kids, or fund a student’s meal plan for a community service project over spring break.

Other gifts offered at the program echo volunteer programs at Whitman.

“We run the Storytime project, which is an early childhood literacy program, and one of our gifts is a literacy program in Mexico,” said Menard.

A Hugging Grannies project based in China functions similarly to Whitman’s Adopt-a-Grandparent.

“This year, in selection of the various gifts, we tried to provide a whole lot of different gifts that focused on different areas around the world and provided a wide range of different types of giving,” said Menard.

The idea of the Alternative Gifts Market isn’t exclusive to Whitman. There are similar markets run by churches, synagogues and colleges all across the country. They are all linked by Alternative Gifts International, a massive program that coordinates donations to organizations large and small.

If Whitman students are not interested in the seven gifts in the catalogue, the international organization provides a larger range of choice.

“It’s things that are important in terms of what Whitman students seem to be interested in right now,” said Menard. “There are 45 other gifts available through Alternative Gifts International and the plethora of alternative gift ideas. [And] if people are creative, it’s far bigger than that.”

Alternative gifts provide a different way of looking at the holidays. The market provides choices while encouraging a subtle change in the way that we think about the definition of a gift.

The AGM attracts college students in particular because it suggests small, manageable donations–most running between three and nine dollars–instead of larger commitments. This strategy has worked well; the market raised 1300 dollars in 2008 and 1600 dollars in 2009.

With no physical presents to handle, the programs do not have to charge extra for the gifts.

“One of the ideas with this sort of market is to keep the costs as low as possible in order to have as much money as possible go towards the cause, ” said Menard.  “We haven’t seen the drop that I expected there to be with regard to the economy . . . there seems to be more of a focus on gifts to others that aren’t materially-based.”

Alternative gifts are on sale November 29th-December 3rd in Reid Campus Center 223 from 9 a.m.-noon and 1-5 p.m., and in the foyer of Reid Campus Center from noon-1 p.m.