Monday, October 31, 2016

Praise for Power of the Purse

While it wasn't a "tea" per se, I attended a wonderful luncheon last week that was so lovely and does so much good, I couldn't help wanting to share it here! It's called "The Power of the Purse," and it's an annual fundraising luncheon for the Coweta Community Foundation, which I assist with public relations and marketing. This was the second year of the luncheon, and it was a huge success! The "purses" are both literal and figurative at this luncheon. Local individuals and businesses open their purses by buying tickets to the luncheon, or perhaps sponsoring a Silent Auction item, and then many women get into a bidding war over all the great purses. This year, the Silent Auction alone raised more than $13,000 for the Foundation's Women and Children's Fund. Even the table decor gets into the "purse" spirit, since all the flower arrangements are created using vintage purses. The arrangements are for sale after the luncheon, and women seemed eager to claim their favorite before heading home.

The event is held at The Newnan Centre, our local convention center, which is a popular spot for local events. It's fun to walk in and see all that pink from the goody bags and printed programs!

Last year we started small with just a handful of purses for the Silent Auction. Women asked for more, and this year we had 41 items for bidding. It was fun to see women (including yours truly) checking out the bids to see how they were doing.

There were a few things for the guys (a Colonel Littleton bag, a golf bag), but most of the items were clearly for us gals, and they ranged from cute Vera Bradley purses to Kate Spade, Coach, Dooney & Bourke, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, and Louis Vuitton purses, so there was truly something in every price range imaginable.

We had an excellent speaker who talked about the problem of young women affected by sex trafficking, and it was good to see awareness raised for such an important cause. The other highlight of the luncheon for me was watching my friend Norma Haynes (second from left) be named Coweta's "Woman of the Year." Norma has been a part of just about every civic effort that has ever gone on in my county, and she is especially known for her many years of work honoring our local public safety officers. When she realized she was this year's winner, tears started spilling down her cheeks, which made me cry, and I'm pretty sure my mascara was gone by the end of the luncheon!

It was such a fun day, and I'm so proud to be part of a truly giving community! I was also pleased that after months of searching for just the right new black purse, I won the bidding for this one, and although you can't really tell from the photo, it has handy pockets on each end. (The first thing I look for on a purse is outside pockets for keys, etc.) I'm not that brand-conscious and generally favor function over style, because if a purse works for me, I don't really care whether anyone else likes it or not. But I guess if I had a favorite maker, it would be Ralph Lauren, although this year's Silent Auction made me realize I like Calvin Klein purses too. Just curious: What's your favorite brand of purse?

12 comments:

  1. What a fun and successful fund raiser!

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  2. Wow! What a great fundraiser! A group here does an annual purse auction but not on that scale! Congratulations to your friend on her high honor, and enjoy using that new black purse.

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  3. Great fundraiser and good idea! Pretty purse too. I like Coach and Kate Spade.

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  4. What a wonderful, special event! GREAT idea on the purses centerpieces and raffle, too.

    Human trafficing is a huge concern - and the more awareness the better. Funny, just had lunch with my 2 sisters, and my youngest daughter and my wee grand and we discussed it over lunch.

    Yet another coincidence that I visit your blog and you mention it. Sometimes I really do think we're soul mates of some sort. Seriously.

    Hugs and love - Michele

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  5. What a clever theme for a fund raiser.

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  6. My favorite purses are made by Danny K. They are all made in the USA and they do not use any animal products in their construction. They come in a variety of lovely tapestry designs and sizes. You will often see them at museum shops; I bought my first one at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. You can find out more about them at dannyktapestry.com.
    --from Vernona in DC

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  7. Well I'm excited to see purses with flowers poking out of them! Such a great idea.
    Glad the fundraiser was successful and woohoo, like the purse you chose and won.

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  8. What a nice fundraiser. I don't care about brands. I just buy the purse I like best.

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  9. What a great idea! I've seen, and used, teapots to hold flower arrangements but would never have thought of using a purse. I'm with you about functionality over name. I want a purse that has several pockets and will hold everything. That way, I only have one thing to keep track of when I travel. Haven't bought many purses lately, but when I did buy purses I tended towards the Aigner brand. When I was a teen back in the '70s, you hadn't arrived until you owned an Aigner purse.

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  10. Oh my, I so wish I were there too! I do have a purse passion (in addition to tea passion) and I am so happy you won! Hooray! I tend to favor a crossbody lightweight these days - makes things so much easier!

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