Bazaar helps education while helping Yumans holiday shop

The Southwest Association for Family and Community Education is letting you get a jump on holiday shopping and, at the same time, helping area students continue their educations.

The organization is hosting its 50th annual Community Bazaar Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 a.m. Saturday at the Yuma Civic Center, 1440 W. Desert Hills Drive.

The bazaar brings together vendors who offer items that can serve as holiday gifts or as stocking stuffers, such as jewelry, carvings, ceramics, and wood craft items. Also available for purchase are baked goods.

“Everything has to be handmade or homemade,” said Margaret Polen, past president of the organization and an organizer of the bazaar.

Admission to the civic center for the bazaar is free.

The Southwest Association for Family and Community Education is a chapter of a nationwide volunteer organization whose mission is to resolve family problems before they become society’s problems.

The money the Southwest chapter makes from renting tables to vendors for the bazaar goes toward the organization’s programs, and for scholarships for students in the Yuma area to attend any community college, university or vocational school located in Arizona.

“(The bazaar) was originated to do fund-raising for the organization, but at least half has always gone toward scholarships,” Polen said.

2020 would have marked the 50th anniversary of the bazaar in Yuma, but COVID-19 prompted its cancelation last year, she said.

Also because of the pandemic, fewer vendors are expected for Saturday’s event, Polen said, but browsers still should have a wide selection of items to choose from.

In a typical year, she said, the bazaar attracts about 180 vendors, some representing Yuma-area organizations raising money for charitable problems, and some who are traveling merchants from out of town.

The Southwest Association is part of the National Association for Family and Community Education, headquartered in Florence, Ky., with chapters around the nation. Formerly the Yuma County Association for Family & Community Education, the Yuma chapter joined with chapters in New Mexico and Texas to form the Southwest Association for Family and Community Education.

For more information about the bazaar, call Polen at 928-726-7456.