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Unneeded clothes? Donate to charity flea market

In response to the devastating food shortage in the Horn of Africa, Flea4Charity, a non-profit initiative working in tandem with Dubai Flea Market, has emerged to take up the cause in the UAE.

Flea4Charity aims to raise funds by calling for unneeded clothes and accessories from the public that will be sold at the first ever night flea market held this Ramadan, tomorrow. The money earned from the donated clothes will go to the UAE Red Crescent to buy food supplies from Kenya for the refugee camp in Dadaab.

“This is undoubtedly an urgent matter. People are dying because of a completely preventable man-made disaster. This is the least we can do,” Jihad M’nasria, co-founder of the charity group, told Khaleej Times.

“We reserve stands at the Dubai Flea Market, just like everyone else does. The main difference is that we sell donated clothes collected from the public, with 100 per cent of funds going to a charitable cause,” Luz Salem Villamil, co-founder of Flea4Charity, added.

The five-person team behind Flea4Charity has actively been raising funds on a monthly basis for various charity projects since March, having raised Dh10,580 in the first two months, which went to the Tawasil Foundation in Libya to aid in relief efforts. According to Luz, the group changes the cause they support every two months in order to raise funds for as many foundations as possible.

During the month of Ramadan, the group aims to give back to the local community by planning iftars on the second and third week of Ramadan as well as distribution of suhur packages to labour camps during the fourth week of Ramadan.

As soon as news of the Somalian crisis broke out, the group has been keen on acting for the cause.

“The project has grown, thanks to the commitment of those involved,” Luz added. “We have already received a good number of unwanted stuff during a short period of time. We even have a volunteer based in Abu Dhabi whom we haven’t met in person, yet. She has managed to collect unwanted items from Abu Dhabi to bring to the flea market on Saturday, so we are hoping for a great success.”

Both Jihad and Luz plan to set up a meeting point at The Pavillion, Downtown Dubai, where people can drop their used clothes off for sale at the flea market. Details on their next scheduled drop-off meeting and more can be found on their facebook page, www.facebook.com/Flea4Charity. The flea market will take place on Saturday, August 6 at Za’abeel Park, near Stargate, from 1pm onwards.

“We want to hold more fundraising events for the Somalian crisis, and since we probably won’t be able to sell everything in one evening, we want to hold a garage sale-type event where a wider range of used goods (books, CDs, appliances in working condition) can be sold,” Luz added. Currently, the group is looking for a venue to hold this proposed garage sale. “If anyone can help us with that, it would be great.”

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

You can donate used clothes (in good condition) to be sold at the flea market by contacting Luz or Jihad through their Facebook page.

Youcan attend the flea market and purchase items from their stalls. All proceeds go to the Red Crescent.

Dar Al Bir Society has set up branches and stalls in almost every mall that allows you to donate money of any amount for the cause.

You can donate to the cause through Sharjah Charity Association by sending a blank SMS to 6212 to donate Dh20, or to 6215 to donate Dh100

praseeda@khaleejtimes.com