Two years since the last time the Campbell River potters’ guild held a clearance sale, potter Ellen Statz had a problem.
“I had previously done a lot of clearance sales with the pottery club, but of course the pandemic stopped all that. Bit and pieces add up and I thought instead of trying to do that I would just offer a donation.” she said. “
However, instead of taking the time to price every item, set them out and try to make a few dollars, Statz decided to give back to the community.
“The bonus was I got to clear some shelving and I got to do something where the money would stay in Campbell River. I was going to do a cancer fundraiser, but it’s such a big machine, and I thought this was pretty important. It’s in my community,” Statz said. “I was born and raised in Campbell River, so I thought it was a really nice time to give back.”
On Sept. 17, Statz held a shelf-clearing fundraiser sale, with proceeds going to the Campbell River Hospice Society.
”I had lots of odds and ends, bits and pieces. As a potter you try things out, sometimes things don’t really flow with the rest and so they sit on the shelf. Instead of trying to price everything and sell it, I thought it was a great time to give back,” she said. “The glaze didn’t work out, it’s still good and doesn’t deserve the smash pile. Some things go under the hammer, but I felt that at least this way it would get a new home and at least do good in the community.”
The hospice is important to Statz because a few years ago she made use of some of the grief counselling services.
“When my husband died about eight years ago, I was able to access grief counselling,” she said. “Even though I only went once it really helped.”
In all, she was able to raise $1,340.
“The people that came were really generous and supportive. They came because it was a hospice thing,” she said. “I had packed up a whole bunch of stuff to do a clearance sale that didn’t happen. I looked at it and thought, even if they started again I am not that interested in all the effort just to gain a few dollars. For a smaller effort I can just donate the money.”
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marc.kitteringham@campbellrivermirror.com
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