Greeley – Assistance League of Greeley has been helping out for 45 years

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Among the mysteries that can be addressed while contributing to a worthy cause Tuesday night at the Kress Cinema & Lounge will be:

» Did the folks behind the otherwise enjoyable film version of “Mamma Mia” really think that Pierce Brosnan could carry a tune? Or were they convinced he was such a box-office draw audiences would forgive him?

» How did the legendary phrase become, “Play it again, Sam,” when Humphrey Bogart, as mysterious saloonkeeper Rick Blaine in “Casablanca,” never did phrase his demand of his piano player exactly that way?

» Is the silent auction still open?

Assistance League of Greeley, commemorating its 45th year, on Tuesday is hosting a “Reclaimed Art Auction” of works donated by local artists, and also will screen “Mamma Mia” (5 p.m.) and “Casablanca” (8 p.m.) as part of a film festival.

The evening will serve as a fundraiser for the organization of volunteer women that does much good in Weld County.

It does it all quietly, using its thrift store — the Bargain Box at 1706 9th Street — as its major source of revenue and its base of operations.

The Tuesday event is more about visibility and routine fundraising than it is about trying to survive, since the revenue from the Bargain Box is Assistance League’s major funding mechanism. The organization, which at last count had 82 members, also applies for and receives grants.

The Greeley group is one of four Assistance League chapters in the state, joining those in Denver, Pueblo and Colorado Springs.

The film festival and art auction Tuesday will be a fun night. Theater-style buttered popcorn will be available. You can sing along with “Waterloo” during the credits of “Mamma Mia,” and you can join in with Bogart in the “Casablanca” final scene, saying, “We’ll always have Paris.” And then maybe walk out with a new piece of artwork, if you have the top bid on one of the 50 donated works.

The fundraiser already has made considerable headway.

“With our sponsorships and ads, we’ve made close to $10,000 now,” Vikki Cole, Assistance League’s events chairwoman, said during my visit to the Bargain Box on Friday. “Our goal is $15,000. I don’t know if we’ll make that, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”

The shop has been on the current site since 2000, after moving from the previous location near Jerry’s Market. The league owns the building, so rent isn’t an issue, either.  The Bargain Box, west of downtown, usually is bustling, and Marjie Reed, the league’s president-elect, pointed out during my tour that this is an “upscale” thrift shop, surviving on donations of clothing, jewelry, collectables, books and much more. Only the best of the donations go on the shelves. The rest is re-donated to other organizations.

“The only people who get paid are the cleaning crew that comes in,” Cole said.

Reed pointed out, “And our accountant.”

Cole said the Bargain Box’s customer base “understands that the donations and the proceeds come back to the community.” She added, “They like shopping here and they know we’re all volunteers. It’s a win-win for the community because the prices are low and people can afford to shop here and buy good quality used clothing.”

This is unique, too: The Bargain Box deliberately liquidates its entire inventory twice a year, marking down until everything is gone. Then it shuts down for two-plus days, restocking with “new” merchandise and reopening, usually with a long line waiting at the door. If you’re there first, of course, you get first crack at the restocked inventory, whether it includes a “lost” Monet painting that has been in an attic for 71 years or otherwise.

Assistance League supported six community programs in 2017-18.

They included:

• Operation School Bell^®: Purchasing school uniforms — two pairs of navy pants and two gray tops per student — for those attending seven area Title I grade schools. The cost exceeded $100,000 in 2018. “There are two other Title I schools that haven’t asked us yet,” Reed said. Title I schools in District 6 are those where 74 percent or more of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.

• Single parent scholarships: Awarding financial aid to students who also are single parents, at Aims Community College and the University of Northern Colorado. They were worth $61,220 this year, going to 23 students.

• Assault survivor kits: Giving assault victims new clothing, so they don’t have to leave area hospitals in gowns. That’s funded by a Victims Advocate Law Enforcement grant, but the Assistance League gathers up the clothing and essentially administers the program.

• Warm Up Weld County: Providing blankets, sleeping bags and throws. “We just delivered 2,100 blankets to shelters, Meals on Wheels and senior centers,” Cole said. “We just filled our cars, fanned out and plastered them all over Weld County.” The plan is to expand the program to provide bedding materials for the Guadalupe Shelter.

• File of Life: Distributing magnetic pockets designed to be placed on refrigerators, with information sheeting that can be filled in with medical information to be consulted in case of emergencies. “We pass those out at all the Channel 9 Health Fairs,” Reed said. “We give them to fire departments, senior centers, nursing homes, and  they’re available here.”

• Color Me Weld: Giving coloring books and crayons, plus Etch-A-Sketch type devices, to children either hospitalized themselves or visiting hospitalized family members. “The nurses at the hospitals said, ‘Can you provide something to kind of occupy the kids?’” Reed said.

So they did. That’s what Assistance League does.

Get your bids in.

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