As the holidays approach, members of the ISU community are being offered an alternative to the gifts sold at traditional retail stores.

The International Handcraft Sale will be this week in the Oak Room of the Memorial Union, said Judy Dolphin, president of Board of Directors at Worldly Goods, 223 Main St.

“There will be a wide array of items,” said Dolphin, executive director of the YWCA of Ames-ISU. “There is something for every taste available. I hope people stop by to see items from all over the world — it’s like seeing a museum from around the world.”

The sale will be from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Dolphin said.

Jerry Wilson, graduate student adviser for the Student Union Board, said he hopes students take advantage of the sale.

“The crafts make really interesting gifts that you can’t find at just Target or Wal-Mart or the mall. The sale is a service to provide students with artifacts from all around the globe on campus,” said Wilson, graduate student in educational leadership and policy studies.

Dolphin said an on-campus sale allows people who don’t go to downtown Ames very often to see what Worldly Goods carries.

“Worldly Goods sells products bought from artists in underdeveloped countries,” she said. “The idea is to generate income for families from different countries. The workers use no child labor and are paid a fair wage for their work.”

The YWCA is sponsoring the event because it sponsors many of the workshops in other countries where the products are made, and Dolphin said that because it is an international organization, it should support world products.

“In terms of profit there isn’t any,” she said. “There is a mark up, but it’s used to run the business. We don’t measure success by profit, but by how many families we are able to support in a year from the sales.”

The event will have a little of everything from the store, Dolphin said.

“There is a range in price, and many of the items could be holiday gifts,” she said. Musical instruments, wood products, jewelry, clothes and toys are some of the items that will be featured.

“I hope students take advantage of the event,” Wilson said. “It is a unique service being offered right here. [Worldly Goods] is such a different store then anywhere else in Ames; it’s a really good store with a good cause and mission.”