The Free Free Market has been postponed in order to ensure that Occupy Chicago run the best event possible. We have received confirmation from our sponsoring organizations and the church that they will be supportive of our future date.
We have set some donations goals to reach before we begin promoting the event within in the community. Over the next few days expect to see an inventory of our collected items posted here and frequent updates of how close we are to reaching our goal.
Occupy Chicago would like to collect:
-400 hundred gifts
-600 care packages (these packages will contain a minimum of three canned food items, two house hold cleaners and two hygiene products)
To help make this event a success for the entire community, please donate the following items:
1. Non-Perishable foods
2. Hygiene/cleaning products.
3. Hats, mittens, and other winter items.
4. Small appliances.
5. Knitted or crocheted scarves etc.
6. Toys for kids.
Drop off locations:
South Side -- The First Unitarian Universalist Church of Chicago
(5650 S. Woodlawn, inside by the office) After 10am to closing.
North Side -- Gallery B1E, (6902 N. Glenwood Ave). 8am-4pm; 7 days a week and by appointment.
Downtown -- We are collecting donations at our General Assemblies on at 500 S. Michigan Ave after 7pm. We will be collecting on Wednesday the 28th.
When we have enough donations for this to be a success, we will have an event where members of the community will be invited to select a free donated gift to have wrapped on site for giving to a loved one, or to keep for themselves! Guests are also encouraged to bring a gift to donate for future Free, Free Markets—Take what you need, and leave what you don’t!
This event is organized and sponsored by Occupy Chicago, STOP Chicago, Occupy the Hood Chicago, K.L.E.O. Community Family Life Center and the Racial Justice task force of the Social Justice Council of the First UU Church of Chicago.
Flier for the donation drive (download original if the formatting is weird)
Facebook page for the Free Free Market
Comments
Why not use the donations we already have at Grace Place?
Here's an idea! Allegedly, we already have a ton of stuff that has been donated to OccChi by folks all over the Upper Midwest! It's being stored at Grace Place! Let's go over there and inventory everything and see if we really need to ask for new donations or not! Why accept donations if you don't even distribute the ones you already have?
Sadly, I have recently found out that the "Donations" Committee, of which I am a member, does not have any jurisdiction over our donations being held at Grace Place. They are in the total control of Brian and Seth at Grace and something called the "Organizations [sic] Committee". Good luck getting in there to see what we have.
Mark Donaghey
Housing, Donations Committees
Committee for an Independent Workers Party
PS: I hope you are going to be giving these donations away...
I hope that you are going to be giving these donations away, not selling them. Especially clothes and food, books, etc. We have homeless Occupiers who could use this stuff, as well as a city full of very poor people whose children need winter coats and gloves, hats, etc.
Mark Donaghey
Housing, Donations Committee
Committee for an Independent Workers Party
You are a loser. Go bury
You are a loser. Go bury your head in the sand.
Mark,
Mark,
Those donations were given to Occupy Chicago under the pretense that they would be used for occuying which is why those organizing this event haven't asked for access to them.
Everything donated for this event will be given away to the attendees, thus it being a "free market". From the conversatins we've had I would imagine you'd be very much in line with the spirt of this event.
Matt
Mark,
If the title is too confusing to you, or this is too difficult to believe, I'll blame our capitalist culture. No, we are not selling anything. This proposal passed the GA, and that would have been an appropriate time to ask a silly question like that rather than on a front page stickied post. It's been talked about multiple times at GA with calls for people to join the working group, and it's been in emails and on the forum. Don't drag us into your political battles. This has nothing to do with donations at grace.
"as well as a city full of very poor people whose children need winter coats and gloves, hats, etc."
that is EXACTLY who we will be giving donated items to. So I'm glad we're on the same page. Too bad you can't delete those extraneous, irrelevant comments. I wish I could delete my first comment.
Is Mark Donaghey's opinion worth anything at this point?
By now, most of you already know that mark has joined this movement for the sole purpose of causing dissension...he basically attacked the proposed housing at cermak for personal reasons (was it four or five restaining orders he has against him there?)...not to mention physically assaulting 2 members of the housing committee in what has been described by witnesses as violent acts...he then proceeds to throw hot tea at brian at grace place, then starts a fist fight at Grace Place, THEN throws brake fluid on multiple people yelling he's going to light them on fire...putting in jeopardy the only housing (although it's limited) this movement does have at the moment...he just happened to be arrested the night before posting this at g.a. for his assaults on occupy members (one of which was brian at grace place)...and he is still trying to cause dissension in this movement using this forum which unfortunately doesn't have the capacity to keep him away....btw, despite his claims, he is no longer part of the housing committee...he was kicked out beause of his inappropriate actions, however, like a 5 year old, he has simply refused to leave...furthermore, we do work with the donations committee, and i assure you all, he IS NOT ON IT...he has in fact only been at one meeting which was a joint meeting between donations and housing and he assaulted someone there...
addressing these ridicuous allegations he poses...at the top of our home page there's a button that says "supplies needed"...when you highlight it a new button comes up below it that says "inventory"...guess what happens when you press this button(it shows about 80% of our current inventory, basically all the things that don't have a high turnover rate in supply)...these donations ARE distributed every single day...granted it's not to random homeless on the street, but to the hardworking members of our movement WHENEVER they ask...
As i already stated, mark IS NOT a member of the donations committee (you can ask anyone ACTUALLY ON the donations committee to verify this)...I have always been in contact with the donations committee and it is true that they have been focused more on getting our online money situated for the past couple of months, but they haven't had to take care of tangible donatons because our committee has been, they have never NOT BEEN in contact with us though and various members have been down here on many an occasion to check things out...that beng said...good luck getting down here if you are a VIOLENT SCOURGE TRYING TO SINGLE-HANDEDLY STOP THE FORWARD MOTION OF THIS MOVEMENT...like mark....
finally his P.S....this is utterly pathetic and really drives home the point that he is ONLY trying to discredit this movement...this statement is plain and simple fear mongering...implying that we are selling food and clothes and books....REALLY?!?!? then he talks about "homeless occupiers" we should be giving donations to (which we are, again, EVERY SINGLE DAY) yet in the main part of his meaningless rant he says we should give these donations to the free free market?!?!? basically, most of you already know what a blight this individual is to our movement...i just want to make sure new people do, too....
-Seth
other types of donations?
Okay, whatever is at Grace is earmarked for other things. These donations are to be given away and are being collected for this particular purpose. I have no money this month at all but do have some nice handmade necklaces that I would be willing to donate. I could ship them for the cost of a ticket to Chicago. Would this be an appropriate donation? If so, I have emailed the outreach committee and would appreciate someone getting back with me ASAP. I am not physically down there these days do to some serous health issues but I try to stay informed. from here.
Cheri,
I don't see your email in outreach!
I have followup questions for you.
Can you send another email to outreach@occupychi.org or to me at mcfuzz@gmail.com (which I will forward)?
I'd like to know more about the neckalces, how much the ticket is, and what the ticket is (for a person? or for shipping?)
Thanks!
-david
We have already done this with great success
http://www.facebook.com/groups/occupydarlo/
We printed out own money and give it away in the streets of our town with infomation on the back of the note. This was a masive success to increase the awarness of the occupy movment and what we stand for. It even made the news and local papers.