WARRANDYTE loves a market. And the community was given a chance to embrace that passion, along with their ethical spirit, when over two thousand people flocked to the Ethical Night Market on a balmy December evening at the Warrandyte Community Church.
The venture was hosted by the Warrandyte Community Church, who threw open its doors for the event. The church’s minister David Molyneux was delighted the community had come out to make the market such as success.
“We received around 2400 people registering their intention to attend on Facebook, and by 7pm we estimate that we had already had 1200 people through the doors,” David said.
The brainchild of five 19-year-old young women from the Warrandyte area, the Ethical market promoted values that tied into their beliefs around social justice, which they began to take an interest in as students at Donvale Christian College.
One of the young organisers Laura Tepe said: “We are just passionate about these issues and have turned them into something, which is really great.”
Co-organiser Jordan Barton said they developed a list of criteria for stallholders to be part of the market, and they had over 40 stallholders step up to the mark.
“They had to be Fair Trade, Organic, Vegan, Environmentally Friendly, Locally or Ethically Sourced, or a Social Enterprise, so that they can raise money for good causes,” she said.
Ms Tepe added: “Any excess money raised through entry donations and stall fees will be donated to the church’s international aid agency, TEAR Australia which deals with global poverty and injustice.”
The women are buoyed by the support they have received from the local community and intend to run the market again.
“It has turned so much better than we expected… and it turned into something a lot more than we thought.”
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