Blossoms of Hope and Her Mind Magazine are pleased to announce another successful Power of the Purse event held at Sub-Zero and Wolf by Fretz Showroom on June 11, 2018. The seventh annual POTP raised a total of more than $42,000 for Blossoms of Hope to help support the Claudia Mayer/Tina Broccolino Cancer Resource Center at Howard County General Hospital and the Ellicott City Disaster Relief Fund.
The 400 guests browsed among 2,400 gently used and vintage purses available for cash and carry that were displayed throughout the newly-renovated kitchen display areas. As a bonus 28 designer handbags – including new purses by Kate Spade, Michael Kors and Coach and vintage by Salvatore Ferragamo were available in the designer purse silent auction. An additional 68 baskets — filled with such treats as certificates to spas and restaurants and specialty purses — were available as part of the Silent Auction.
Her Mind Magazine and Blossoms of Hope want to thank all who contributed to this event.
Brenda von Rautenkranz, owner of Fit For Life Personal Training, psychotherapist, and host of the Fit To Be Fabulous video and television series, once again served as emcee with her inimitable grace and humor. We can always count on Brenda to warm up the crowd.
Kudos to Chairperson Becky Mangus and co-chairs Vera Simmons, Elaine Masker, Terri Schad, Karen Lucas, Christa Giagrandi, Lisa Hermodsson and the more than 50 volunteers it takes to put on this amazing event.
Thanks to this year’s sponsors and donors who made the event possible, including Harry H. Witzke Family Funeral Home; Suzi Padgett, Long & Foster Columbia; Rocky Brown, Wendy Slaughter Team–Next Step Realty; Don and Chris Pistorio; Marketing Solutions Unlimited; Alyse Borakove; and Ourisman Automotive for their generous financial contributions.
In addition, our extreme gratitude is extended to our in-kind sponsors who were a significant part of the event, including: Iron Bridge Wine Company for consistently providing fine wines for our guests; the Sub-Zero and Wolf Showroom by Fretz has been a magical venue since the event started; Maggiano’s Little Italy for feeding the masses; and Seasons 52 for keeping the sweet tooth at bay.
A special thank you to Corporate Office Properties Trust for supplying office space again this year which made the process much more stream-lined and productive.
Also thank you to Dana O’Sullivan of DellaBlooms who provided the props for the purse displays, and Carol Weil, aka The Decorating Therapist, who artfully staged the multitudes of purses throughout the showroom.
Thanks to The Business Monthly for helping us promote the 2018 Power of the Purse, and to The Wendy Slaughter Team–Next Step Realty, for donating the customized purple Power of the Purse shopping bags.
We’re also grateful to Beverly Johnston with Time Saver Advantage with her team Elaine Masker and Terri Schad and their team of volunteers in helping to clean the thousands of purses.
Cherrybration Platinum Sponsor
Power of the Purse Silver Sponsors
In addition to all the contributors and volunteers, the success of 2018 Power of the Purse is largely due to the community. Without our many friends – who scour their closets for handbags to donate, and who show up to buy and bid – the event just wouldn’t be as festive and fun. Nor would it raise such generous funds for the important work of Blossoms of Hope in support of Ellicott City Disaster Relief Fund and the Claudia Mayer/Tina Broccolino Cancer Resource Center at Howard County Hospital. Thank you again for making this year’s Power of the Purse bigger and better. See you in 2019.
Thanks to the following companies and individuals!
