ASHLAND, Ore.– Hundreds of people looking for that special gift for holidays took part in a unique experience on Sunday.
It was the 18th annual Abundance Swap. Held at the Historic Ashland Armory, the idea was created as a counter to the Black Friday shopping frenzies.
Each person that shows up is asked to bring three nice items so that others made gift them. Everyone though can peruse what people have brought to find their own personal treasures. State Senator Jeff Golden helped create the swap while he was working at Jefferson Public Radio.
“There’s a lot more people kind of living on the edge economically,” he said. “So the last few years we’ve heard from people almost every year saying I brought my kids and they are picking things to give to their friends and I wouldn’t have been able to do that.”
No money is ever exchanged at these swaps. Organizers say dozens of communities across the country have since picked up their own abundance swaps as well.
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