Join Capital Action, Eco-Women, SustainUS and other folks in the DC area for a night of buying meaningful holiday gifts of charity to support a variety of non-profit organizations. Meet some friends for happy hour, cross those items off your shopping list AND help people and communities in need at the same time!

Last year, some 120 "shoppers" purchased over 600 gifts of donations totaling more than $8,200, including 71 yoga sessions for seniors, 78 bed nets to prevent malaria in Tanzania, 22 bicycles for social workers in southeast Asia, and 38 transportation cards for victims of domestic violence. Also among the donations were therapeutic retreats for grieving children, GED and boat-building training for DC-area youths, and 22 gallons of paint for low-income families.

This year, choose from:

* A toiletries starter kit for someone moving out of a shelter ($8, from Green Door)
* A hand-sewn Christmas stocking filled with necessities and small gifts for a homeless child ($40, from Capitol Hill United Methodist Church)
* A holiday meal for a family living in poverty ($26, from Bread for the City)
* An hour-long help session from a trained Katrina evacuee for another hurricane victim ($10, from Circle of Health International)
* 25 percent of the annual salary for a village midwife in Tibet ($25, from Circle of Health International)
* A cookbook for a trainee upon completion of a life-skills culinary training program ($10, from Through the Kitchen Door)
* An electric mixer requested by a senior delivered on Christmas Day ($20, from We Are Family)

For each gift you will received a hand-inscribed card describing the gift and the organization for your recipient.

Volunteers are still needed as greeters, cashiers and calligraphers, and for on-street advertising. To volunteer, contact Sat Jiwan Khalsa at satjiwan@newdream.org.

When: Monday, Dec. 5, from 6 to 9 p.m.
Where: The Front Page (1333 New Hampshire Ave. NW, Dupont Circle Metro, South Exit)

If you can't get to the Monday night event in Dupont Circle, here are some other DC-area alternative gift fairs:

DC
When: Saturday, Dec. 3, from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Where: American University, Room 120, Mary Graydon Center
More Info: figment@gmail.com

MARYLAND
When: Saturday, Dec. 3, from noon to 4 p.m.
Where: Takoma Park Presbyterian Church (310 Tulip Ave., Takoma Park)
More Info: Gina Duffin at gina_duffin@yahoo.com

When: Sunday, Dec. 4, from 2 to 5 p.m.
Where: Brookmont Church (MacArthur and Maryland Avenue, Bethesda)
More Info: Sandy Robinson at granitesong@aol.com

When: Sunday, Dec. 4, 11 and 18, from 9:45 to 11:30 a.m.
Where: Paint Branch Unitarian Universalist Church (3215 Powder Mill Rd., Adelphi)
More Info: Laura Van Wie McGrory at LLVanWie@lbl.gov or 301/927-2776

VIRGINIA
When: Saturday, Dec. 3, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 4, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: Belmont Ridge Middle School (19045 Upper Belmont Pl., Lansdowne)
More Info: Peggy Coleman at agf@saintgabriels.net or 703/779-3616

When: Sunday, Dec. 4, from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. and noon to 1:30 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 11 and 18, from noon to 1 p.m.
Where: Ravensworth Baptist Church (5100 Ravensworth Rd., Annandale)
More Info: Geneva Pope at dgpope7603@verizon.net or 703/569-4751

To learn more about alternative gift fairs, or to find one outside of the DC area, log in here.