Charity League in the News
September 6, 2012
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The organization began in 1931 with 18 members. It now has 47 active members and 388 sustainer members. Members are active for seven years, keeping up the fundraising and community outreach events. After that, they are considered sustainers, which means lifetime membership without requirements. When Groves joined the league, 10 active years were required, she said. That number, she added, had just been reduced from 12 years before she joined. Charity League’s largest fundraising event, Bargain Fair, is in its 43rd year this year, and will be held on Oct. 1. The Bargain Fair grew from the thrift shop the league used to run in its earlier days, after World War II ended. “We called it the Bargain Box instead of the thrift store,” said Groves. She recalled that each member had to raise $15 for the shop. One member, she said, donated her husband’s cashmere sweater to the shop. Her husband kept looking for it. When he saw it hanging in the shop window one day, he bought it back for $2. Bargain Fair now is a one-day event that sells everything from furniture and exercise equipment to shoes and holiday decorations. Moore said she once saw a hot tub contributed to the sale, and Groves recalled one year a boat was donated. The first project of the League was to establish a clinic for children. Open once a month, the clinic had a doctor who would treat children who otherwise wouldn’t be able to receive care. Groves said that when she was president, polio was a big worry. “I went down as having spent the most money,” she said, when the league provided 3,120 local children with polio vaccinations. Later, the group brought in doctors from Roanoke each month to help get braces for children affected by the polio virus. In the 1970s, the group began eye screenings, which continue today, for children who may not have the means to see an optometrist. The screening determines whether or not they need further examination. The group helped set up what now is known as the Boys and Girls Club, members volunteer at The Starting Place, and the group gives away several $1,000 scholarships each year. This year, Moore said, it gave 27. The League helps sponsor the Missoula Children’s Theater, 4-H camp and Minds in Motion. It donates to Grace Network and the Virginia Museum of Natural History, including a $50,000 gift when the new museum was built. The organization has changed as the role of women in society has changed. When Groves joined the group, only three members held jobs. Two were teachers and one worked in a jewelry store. Moore said today, more than 90 percent of active members work, and most of them have children younger than age 6. Moore said one effect of women working outside the home is that placements (volunteer service) for members has changed. When Groves was president of the league, most of the volunteer work done by members was during the day. Now it’s mostly at nights and on weekends. As a member of the Charity League, “you are part of the community,” said Groves. “I think it’s very unique” what the organization does. “I would love to see another 80 years,” said Moore. |
