The common reusable bag, in its myriad materials, patterns, sizes and colors, has become perhaps the most recognizable modern-day icon for activism and environmentalism. On Saturday, May 9 at the Hervey/Point Loma Branch Library, that bag will also be a sack of hope for children here and around the world. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., students from the Cambio Club at High Tech High International (HTHI) in Point Loma will partner with the local chapter of Voices of Women to lead a workshop on making the reusable bags. Proceeds from the bags will support the Cambio Club’s mission to raise money for a school in Equador. Materials will be provided and each bag will cost $7 with a two-bag minimum. Bags previously made by the students will also be on sale for $7 each. “It’s all part of the ‘think globally and act locally’ [movement],” said Melissa Agudelo, a history teacher and the club’s liaison at HTHI. “It’s also a way for us to raise money and awareness about the United Nation’s millennium goals. Environmental sustainability is one of the four goals, and since this project is taking bags off the street it’s achieving that goal.” The UN’s other millennium goals are to end poverty and hunger, strengthen universal education and ensure gender equality. Saturday’s bag-making event and the money it raises are made possible by a variety of unique relationships that stretch the globe and include the Voice of Women who mentor the students in the Cambio Club, which is a participating member of the O Ambassadors, a project of Oprah Winfrey and Free The Children’s Craig Kielburger that encourages young people to become active global citizens. The Cambio Club was created at High Tech High International in February 2007. Since then, the club has raised $2,600 — $1,000 of which has come from making and selling reusable bags. The Hervey/Point Loma Branch Library is located at 3701 Voltaire St. Pre-registration to make the one-of-a-kind bags of hope, which also have a unique pocket feature that folds the bag into a small square, is encouraged and can be done by e-mailing [email protected]. For more information, visit www.voicesofwomen.org.
