If you’re looking for a noble way to spend your money this weekend, you’re in luck as the city sees not just one but three bazaars for charity. A community-based event, The Hand In Hand Flea, in its third edition, aims to raise funds for the maintenance of Milton Street Park in Frazer Town, while Anandam, to be held at St Mark’s Cathedral, is a fundraiser for Suchetadhama, an organisation that supports senior citizens with neuro-degenerative diseases. The third, a regular fixture during the weekends, is Flea 080, held at a newly opened mall in Whitefield.
Set in the green environs of the Milton Street park, the Hand In Hand Flea will see stalls selling homemade goods from paintings to hand painted ceramic trays and stained glass art pieces. “Ours is not a commercial event. The focus is on the community and on enabling the community to support itself,” shares Kiran Castelino, one of the organisers. The market will have a total of 30 tables with home-based businesses from across Bengaluru setting up shop. “As of now, there are people from around the city participating in the sales, but eventually, we want more individuals from the locality to get involved,” she adds. The organisers plan to make this happen once in two months, to keep the locals interested.
At the centre of town, with the charming St Mark’s Cathedral as the backdrop, Anandam plays host to innovators from across the city with Christmas decorations, desserts, origami, jewellery, potted plants, fused glass art, home furnishings, hand-painted bottles, saris and more on offer. “While it’s in aid of senior citizens, the event is open to people of all ages,” clarifies Gail Sinha, the event coordinator. Apart from the stalls, visitors can also sign up for origami and block printing workshops or watch a zentangle demo.
Over at VR Bengaluru in Whitefield, the third edition of Buzzar, the weekend flea market by Flea 080 has stalls like Srishti Foundation which sells everything from wooden boxes, magazine stands, hand-carved wooden figures and art work. A sizeable portion of the money they raise goes towards tribal welfare. “We are associated with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and work with tribal people across India. Apart from that we also work with schools and orphanages to raise awareness about environmental issues,” shares Amitabha Dev, one of the volunteers at the foundation. Helping reduce our carbon footprint and also funding a little orphanage, House of Hope on the outskirts of the city, is The Preloved Co who will be selling gently used clothes at a fraction of the original price. With so many options to make your money count, there’s no excuse for not doing your bit for charity this weekend.
