Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – A few community members will come together this weekend to bring a Mutual Aid Fair to downtown Jonesboro.
Event organizer Dylan Nelson said the fair will be a free four-hour walk-up event, with no formal gate or registration. It is a concept that he, Kyla Scercy and Carla Garza are replicating after seeing similar events on social media.
Nelson said the concept of a mutual aid fair is a free event where members of the community can gather and exchange things they might need.
Participants are invited to bring wagons, or to use the tables located at Union Park Pavilion, and display the resources they would be willing to trade with others, including:
- Enrichment items – hobby and craft supplies, books, instruments, movies, records/CDs, etc.
- Home décor
- Household items – small appliances, electronics, cleaning supplies, etc.
- Adult, teen, and children’s clothing – any size garments, purses/bags, shoes, hats, intact or broken jewelry, jackets/coats, belts, gloves, umbrellas, etc.
- Unsoiled athletic equipment – pads, bats, gloves, helmets, nets, practice equipment, amateur/NCAA/Pro-sized balls, etc.
- Childcare supplies – carseats, booster seats, post-partum supplies, bouncers/walkers, etc.
- Toys – dolls/action figures, complete games, blocks, puzzles, books, electronic toys, etc.
- Sealed hygiene items – feminine products, oral hygiene supplies, safety razors and blades (only in the original packaging, must be given to a volunteer for safe redistribution), etc.
- Seal-neutral hygiene items – soaps, shampoos, bathroom and facial tissue, etc.
“If it is dangerous, don’t bring it,” Nelson said, which include items such as weapons, chipped glass, lead-painted objects, rusted objects, undergarments and soiled garments, biohazardous materials and poisons, used hairbrushes and combs, used cosmetics and nailcare items, and extra house paint, shingles, or lumber scraps.
No money will be exchanged at the event.
“No one can accept payment for anything, which allows for a more equitable playing field for everyone involved. Also, kind of the whole idea of mutual aid is to assist one another outside of the economy… outside of the things that might limit you,” Nelson said.
While food items are suggested for trade, all participants will be welcome to free bags of pre-collected donations of clothing and non-perishable foods, while supplies last. These items were collected through multiple clothing and food drives that the group conducted in conjunction with International Studies Magnet School and the Amistad House.
Spanish-speaking volunteers will also be available.
The fair will be on Oct. 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Union Park Pavilion in downtown Jonesboro.
“This event that we’re running is part of a broader personal effort of mine to mobilize local people into doing this type of community activism that benefits everyone in Jonesboro and thereby improve Jonesboro,” Nelson said.
For more information, contact Nelson on Facebook.
