Holiday customers shopping at a pop-up store in Manhattan this week left without baubles or packages to give to their family and friends. Instead, they bought gifts that would be sent to refugees in faraway camps — sleeping bags, blankets, solar lamps and onesies.

The store, Choose Love, is a New York offshoot of a successful pop-up that was created by the nonprofit group Help Refugees and made its debut in London last winter. Help Refugees was founded in 2015 to deliver donations to refugees in Calais, France, where displaced people from Syria, Afghanistan, parts of Africa and other places struggling with violence were trying to make their way to Britain.

The charity now distributes items to and serves more than 80 projects in Croatia, France, Greece, Iraq and Turkey, among other places. “We wanted to turn consumerism on its head,” said Josie Naughton, the chief executive of Help Refugees. “The news is so depressing. We want people to feel empowered.”