Gifts for Good (G4G), which began in the fall of 2010, brings together staff, faculty, and other students to make crafts from things most people deem worthless or “trash”, thus keeping these items out of landfills and preventing the consumption of store-bought gifts that use earth’s resources. Supplies for G4G crafts have been donated to the CCE by individuals, as well as collected from the dorm halls; these included corks, scrap paper and fabric, tea and coffee containers, old tapes, magazines, lids, old transparencies used in the classroom, and many others. The first G4G sale, held right before Christmas of 2010, raised $679 which was donated to non-profits that help low-income people in the Forest Grove area. G4G also builds a community by bringing together staff, faculty and students to share ideas and skills first and foremost, but also to teach one another creative sustainability above and beyond recycling in the form of “upcycling.” Gifts for Good is about self-empowerment, community, and sustainable living.
Gifts for Good has been a group effort, under the sponsorship and supervision of the Center for Civic Engagement. The project was started by Kaely Summers, AmeriCorps volunteer at Pacific University, in 2010. Since then, students in Prof. Ramona Ilea’s “Ethics and Society” class organized the craft parties and sales as their civic engagement projects. Throughout this time, they engaged many faculty, staff, students and community members in creating items, staffing the tables during the sale, and in spreading the word about this project. Everyone hopes that other people will take over this project in the future.
For two excellent student e-portfolios, see the Fall 2013 project or the Fall 2014 project
For more pictures, see Album 1, Album 2, or Album 3.
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