Shop for a Cause!
Purchases from our resident-run shops support the Fellowship Fund.
On Friday mornings, our Main Street is bustling with the opening of the Echo Shop, Treasure Chest, Men’s Corner and Furniture Room. Resident volunteers welcome neighbors, family and friends to purchase a variety of items in the Westminster Canterbury Richmond emporiums. Dishes, pans, men’s trousers, women’s boots and furniture all wait to be claimed. Patrons feel transformed by the variety and care given to presentation and service.
In these all-resident run and staffed boutiques, the real work goes on before and after the shop hours. Former executives from the fabled Miller & Rhoads and Thalhimers department stores work alongside other residents with retail and non-retail backgrounds to organize, repair, price and display the variety of wares. There are 66 volunteers who give time, energy and expertise to make the shops appealing and profitable. The extensive labor of love and pride are on display even in the smallest detail – making certain the mixer really does work, the glasses are sparkling clean and clothes are pressed.
And it is all for a great cause.
Proceeds from the sales of items (mostly donated by residents) benefit our Fellowship Fund. This fund provides assistance through housing, meals and health care to seniors-in-need in our community. Today, more than 100 deserving seniors count on our help, and in 2015 proceeds from the shops totaled $138,882. Included in this count are monies from the Fall Craft Fair, Small Crafts Group and Unique Boutique as well.
Patronizing our Main Street shops on Friday mornings will likely yield a treasure or two, but more importantly, the proceeds help provide services to our seniors-in-need. If you would like to learn more about our Fellowship Program and how you can help support this initiative, contact Elizabeth Vaughan (evaughan@wcrichmond.org; 804-264-6204). And if you have items to donate, contact David Ballas (dballas@wcrichmond.org; 804-200-1137).