The flea market is all about spotting a bargain, haggling with the stallholders and being delighted with your new purchase. But there can be more behind your new bargain. Some stalls at the flea market are driven by a charitable cause. I spoke to stallholders behind the cause.
The first charity I meet was the Golden Bear Trust. The stall has books and bric-a-brac, but more interestingly has beautiful theatre costumes, which the stallholder can tell the story of each. This stall is bags of fun for a great cause. The trust supports people, in particular children, who have experienced or are at risk of trauma from abuse, poverty, oppression and neglect. It aims to make a contribution towards the financial cost of participating in counselling and therapies, the arts, prevention projects and education.
Moving on to a corner of Out of the Blue, which is jam-packed with clothes, shoes, bags, with a guitar and wet suit thrown in for good measure. The good cause: to collect money for baby Ketut. Ketut is from a mixed British Indonesian family, her mother a former Edinburgh resident. Ketut was born in Indonesia on the 5th Nov 2011 and spent almost 5 months of her life in different hospitals. She has been treated for meningitis and hydrocephalus and has a cerebral shunt installed. The healthcare in Indonesia is private and expensive and when Ketut’s family started falling behind on medical bills friends of her mother decided to help.
And finally, Powerful Partnerships first took a stall at the October 2011 market. They realise having a stall at the market is not just about making money, but to create awareness of the charity. Powerful Partnerships aims to make a difference by providing opportunities for people with learning difficulties to live rich, diverse, independent and active lives in their own community.
So the next time you are at the flea market, your new purchase might be supporting good causes in your community. Happy Shopping!
CONTACT DETAILS
Golden Bear Trust: The Chair, Golden Bear Trust, 18 Main St, Eccles, TD5 7QP.
Website is begin developed
Ketut: meizzo@yahoo.com or liztainsh@hotmail.com
Powerful Partnerships: Powerful Partnerships, PO BOX 17407, Edinburgh, EH12 1FZ. info@powerfulpartnership.org.uk
