Suburbanites club makes donation a yearly tradition

Most Christmas Fund donors are individuals or businesses, but the charity is also on the donation lists of a few clubs.

The Suburbanites is one of the clubs that have given to the Christmas Fund often in the past few decades. None of its members can recall exactly how long the Suburbanites has been sending checks to the Christmas Fund, but one of the charter members of the group said it’s been a long time.

“We’ve always given to groups that help children,” said Marguerite Crawford, one of the three surviving members who founded the group in 1959. The Suburbanites donated $500 this year.

Donations totaling $1,825 have brought the Christmas Fund to $35,883.25. Much more is needed to pay the bills when the Christmas Bureau opens on Thursday at the Spokane County Fair & Expo Center. The goal this year is $485,000.

“We give money to a number of local charities,” said Suburbanite treasurer Elinor Johnson, who describes herself as a relative newcomer in the club. Last year the club distributed the $8,250 it raised among Union Gospel Mission, the Salvation Army, Second Harvest, Valley Food Bank, the Diabetes Foundation and the Christmas Fund, as well as others.

To raise money, the Suburbanites stage a salad luncheon and card party in November, a luncheon and silent auction in December and a luncheon and style show in April.

“The style show is our biggest moneymaker,” said Crawford.

The club began with fewer than a dozen women in the Spokane Valley suburbs.

“It was word of mouth mostly,” said Crawford. “I was appointed the ways and means chairman, meaning I had to figure out what and how we would make some money.”

She suggested they should make some crafts and bake sale items. “I had just learned how to knit slippers with great big pompoms on them. Some of the women made pies or cookies. A couple of women made those cute, fussy little aprons that women wore in those days,” Crawford said.

She and another Suburbanite asked the manager at a neighborhood grocery store if they could sell their items inside the store. “We got a corner just inside and we sold out by noon,” Crawford recalled. “We made $300 or $400, which was quite a lot of money in those days.”

She remembers giving the first donations to the Children’s Home Society of Washington.

The membership of the Suburbanites grew along with the club’s ambitions. “Our charter calls for a limit of 50 members and I think we have about 45 now,” said Johnson.

Through the years, they bought land and built a home for disabled children, raised money for the first Ronald McDonald House in Spokane and expanded their list of favorite charities. They also added golf tournaments, card parties and the style show to their repertoire of fundraising events.

“I think this shows you what volunteers can do when they get together,” Crawford said.

The operation of the Christmas Bureau requires about 300 volunteers, many of whom donate their efforts to a number of other charities throughout the year. All of the needs of the bureau are filled this year, thanks to a number of volunteers who will work for the duration of the bureau’s operation, Dec. 7-20.

Following are the newest donors and their donations:

The Suburbanites, of Spokane Valley, gave $500.

The family of H. Earl Davis donated $300 in his name.

Steve Scott, of Spokane, sent $250.

Frank and Patricia Goodman, of Spokane, donated $200, as did Joan Peden, also of Spokane.

Frank and Jean Ann Armstrong, of Spokane, sent $100, as did Linda Williamson, and Steven and Linda Swartley, also all of Spokane.

Edward and Susan Leach, of Coeur d’Alene, sent $50.

Lloyd and Georgiana Backenstoe, of Post Falls, donated $25.