Shopping with dignity at the Unity House Children’s Holiday Market

Kumi Tucker WNYT

6pm: Unity House Children’s Holiday Market in Troy

A pop-up holiday market has taken over a building in Troy. It's where families can go to pick out gifts for their children, free of charge. The market is put on by Unity House for people to be able to shop with dignity.

Troy, N.Y. (WNYT) – Priscilla Thompson is a mother of five.

“It helps a lot because with the financial stuff nowadays everything’s so expensive. You can’t really afford to get your kids nothing nowadays, so it helps a lot,” she said.

Everything in the Unity House Children’s Holiday Market has been donated– evidence of a very generous community.

Unity House hosts this event in Troy so that people can shop for free, and with dignity.

Shoppers get a chance to pick out the things they want for their children.

5pm: Unity House hosts Children’s Holiday Market

There's a place in Troy where families will be able to pick out gifts for their children, free of charge. The holiday market is put on by Unity House, and they want people to be able to shop with dignity.

“I know that it’s a stressful time to decide whether to pay a certain bill or to give your child a special gift for the holiday and I think if we can at least help with that little bit, our mission is to make life better and to me, there’s nothing better than that,” said Unity House Children’s Holiday Program Coordinator Moira Geracitano.

Shoppers select both gifts and essentials. They get two “wants” and two “needs” per child, and everyone gets pajamas, hats, mittens, and socks.

They even get paper and tape, so they can wrap their gifts.

4pm: People shop with dignity at Unity House Holiday Market

A large market filled with toys has been set up in a building in Troy. It's a place through Unity House for people to pick out gifts for their children for Christmas, free of charge, and shop with dignity.

Shoppers are referred through programs, and shopping is by appointment only.

The space to help the community was provided by First Columbia, which has a lot of projects in the area.

“We’re very happy, we have a lot of great employees from Troy and we’re trying to use our resources to invest in their communities to make things better for everyone. And this is great for everybody!” said First Columbia President Kevin Bette.

“There’s just great stuff here. You walk through and see a lot of new stuff and a lot of very high quality gifts and it warms your heart that they’re going to go to people that need them more.”

This room may look full, but over the next two weeks, more than 1,000 children will get gifts from this market, including Priscilla’s youngest children.

“The way they smile and they get along. I love when they get along. They can’t be like, oh that’s mine, that’s mine, nope. You got your own stuff, you like that, you like that, they’re good,” she said. “But the fun, the laughing, the giggling, that’s what makes me– that’s my Christmas.”