Markets for Good hosts free pop-up markets where you shop local makers and every visit gives back to neighbors in need. How it works
Our next market · A free holiday market
The Gratitude Exchange
- Saturday, December 12 · 11am–3pm
- Patrick Henry Recreation Center, 4653 Taney Ave, Alexandria
- Free entry with RSVP · Free parking · All ages
An afternoon of local makers, handmade gifts and kids' activities, all to help Alexandria kids have a warmer holiday. Bring a new, unwrapped toy or new socks and underwear for kids ages 0–18.
Free ticket · RSVP required to enter
Save your family's spot
Entry is free, but everyone needs an RSVP. You'll get a ticket to show at the door, and just by coming you're helping local kids.
You're on the list!
Admit
The Gratitude Exchange
Sat, Dec 12 · 11am–3pm
Patrick Henry Recreation Center
Ticket
Free
Show this ticket at the door and we'll scan your code to check you in. We've emailed you a copy too, but a screenshot is a good idea.
Preview only: this RSVP wasn't saved, because the form isn't connected to MailerLite yet.
Shop Small. Give Big. Spread Good.
Pop-up markets that turn a joyful afternoon into real support for our neighbors.
We gather local makers, welcome families, and raise money for a local cause at every market. Two markets in, two nonprofits funded, and we're building the team for what's next.
Want to help plan it? Join a team. Most roles are a few emails or a couple of hours on market day.
About this initiative
A volunteer-run market with giving built into it.
Markets for Good brings people together through pop-up markets that celebrate shopping local, giving back through fundraising, and honoring diverse communities. It's a volunteer initiative that invites business owners and families — including children — to experience the joy of giving back while supporting nonprofits that strengthen our communities.
- Vendor fees and sponsorships first cover the venue. Everything after that goes to the market's nonprofit partner.
- Vendors keep 100% of their own sales, with the option to donate a percentage to the nonprofit.
- Built for families, with kids' activities at every market.
Founded by Heba Saleh. Sponsored by Key of Life Ventures.
Hear the story behind Markets for Good, from the start. Watch on YouTube
What's next
Two markets in the works.
Want to help plan it? See the teams.
Choosing our nonprofit partner
Each market raises money for a local cause, chosen for the season. For spring, we're looking for a local organization working on food security, nutrition, or family health.
We choose partners who will co-promote to their own list and followers, bring volunteers, and show up on event day. If that's your organization and food security or family health is your work, tell us about your work for spring.
Past markets
Two markets, two local nonprofits.
April 25, 2026
Blooming Together 2026
A spring market and community fundraiser rooted in care, creativity, and collective impact. Hosted at the family-friendly CoWo & Crèche, local makers, families, and neighbors gathered to raise funds for military families. Highlights included live music, a Spring Fairy photo backdrop, a bouquet cart, kids' crafts, a Lebanese lunch, inspiring talks, childcare, and a silent auction.
Sponsors & contributors
December 13, 2025
The Gratitude Exchange 2025
Our very first market, and a holiday fundraiser that beat every expectation we had for it. Funded through vendor fees, childcare, and activity tickets, it established Markets for Good as a joyful, community-centered initiative. Community Lodgings put the money into their Youth Education Program, their transitional and affordable housing, and nutritious snacks for students.
Sponsors & contributors
Market moments
What a market actually feels like.
December 2025 and Spring 2026.
Get involved
Seven ways to help build the next market.
Pick the team that fits how you like to show up. You don't need to commit to a whole season. One role at one market is a real contribution, and it's how most of our volunteers got started.
Before the market
Location & Foot-Traffic
Scout and secure a visible, accessible venue with built-in foot traffic.
Partnerships & Sponsorships
Bring in sponsors and donations, and manage the silent auction items.
Nonprofit Selection
Choose a beneficiary that will actively co-promote and show up on the day.
Vendor Relations
Recruit local makers, handle applications, and support vendors on site.
Promotion & event day
Media & Promotion
Press, newsletters, social content, and photo & video on the day.
Event-Day Operations
Check-in, kids' activities, silent auction, setup, breakdown, hospitality.
Community Experience
Decor, music, seasonal touches, and the gratitude moments people remember.
Not sure where you fit?
Tell us what you enjoy and we'll find the right place for you.
Want to take on a little more?
The Gratitude Exchange is volunteer-led, and each team could use someone to help lead it. It's a good way to learn how a market comes together, and you're welcome to share a team with a friend.
Next planning call
Thursday, October 29 · 7:30–8:30 PM · Zoom
Thinking about helping? Email us or send a DM on Instagram and we'll send you the link. Come listen, no commitment needed.
Vendors & sponsors
Sell your work. Fund a cause.
Applications for The Gratitude Exchange open as soon as we confirm the venue. Join the interest list and you'll be the first to hear, before we announce anywhere else.
What to expect as a vendor
- Curated to the theme
- Each market has its own focus, so we match applications to it. December is artisans and gift-makers; spring is wellness, growers, and farms.
- Food & beverage slots
- Each market has two or three food and drink vendors so people can eat and stay a while, usually something savory, a drink, and something sweet. We don't take two of the same. Let us know in your application if you need electricity, will cook on site, or need a health permit.
- Nonprofits as vendors
- Nonprofits are welcome on the same terms as everyone else: pay the vendor fee and keep what you sell. The silent auction and donation stations belong to the market's partner nonprofit, so please don't put out separate donation jars or raffles at your table. Collection drives are usually welcome; just ask us first.
- Service businesses
- Welcome when the service fits the theme and there's something to do at your table: a demo, a mini-session, a bookable consult. A brochure hand-out table is a harder fit. If what you really want is visibility, sponsorship does that better and we'll happily point you there.
- Vendor fee
- Collected only after acceptance. Fees first cover the venue, and the rest goes to the market's nonprofit partner.
- Your sales
- You keep 100% of your sales. We warmly encourage — but never require — a donation of 10% to the fundraising effort.
- A curated mix
- We cap how many vendors we take in any one category, food and baked goods especially, so the market stays varied and nobody is competing with the table beside them.
- Shared values
- All vendors sign a simple agreement affirming care for the space, courtesy toward others, and a commitment to honesty and safety.
Sponsorship opportunities
Sponsorships help cover the venue first, so more of every vendor fee reaches the cause. Everything beyond our costs goes to the market's nonprofit partner. Underwriting pays for the experience it names, like Santa photos or the craft corner, and anything left over goes to the partner too.
Community Sponsor · $150+
Recognition on our website, social media, print materials, and event signage.
Impact Sponsor · $250+
Everything in Community Sponsor, plus three minutes at the welcome to share your mission or message with the whole room.
Underwrite an experience · $500
Put your name on the thing families remember: Santa photos, the kids' craft corner, the silent auction, or childcare. Your money pays for that experience directly. Everything in both tiers, plus recognition on that experience's signage and in our recap video. One sponsor per experience.
Sponsors who don't wish to vend don't need a vendor application. Just email us to confirm your support.
Looking ahead to spring
Farms, studios & local experts: come teach something.
Blooming Together, our spring festival, is built around short talks and demos alongside the market itself. We're inviting local farms, studios, and independent experts to give a talk and host a signup table. No inventory to haul. These are teaching sessions rather than sales pitches, which is why they're curated: you bring something people learn from, we bring the room.
Topics we're looking for, and who this is for
- What's actually in season here in spring
- Spotting the real thing: olive oil, honey & pantry staples
- What food labels actually mean
- How a CSA works, and who it's right for
- Starting a garden in a small yard or on a balcony
- Cooking one seasonal dish, start to finish
- A short movement session families can do together
- Feeding kids well without the battle
Pick one or propose your own. Open to growers, CSA and buying-club operators, yoga and fitness studios, chefs, dietitians, midwives and lactation consultants, and clinicians. We're after practical skills people can use, not health claims, and every talk is reviewed before we confirm it.
Spring details firm up after December. Tell us what you'd talk about and we'll be in touch when planning starts.
Vendor safety notice
Markets for Good never accepts applications or payments through Facebook, DMs, or third-party individuals.
Vendor fees are collected only after acceptance, and only through an official email from info@marketsforgood.co.
If anyone contacts you claiming to represent us, please verify with us before sending money.
Stay in the loop
Want to hear when the next market is happening?
Market dates, vendor applications opening, and how each fundraiser turns out. A few emails a year, nothing else.
No spam, and you can unsubscribe any time.