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?