3 Charities Aided By ‘Celebration’

Shop-a-holics take notice: The downtown Bon Marche will again be the site of “Celebration of Caring” from 6 to 9 p.m. on Nov. 24, with proceeds assisting three local charities: the Children’s Home Society of Washington, Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery and the Inland Northwest Special Olympics.

The evening of shopping requires a $5 ticket (children, 12 years old and younger, are free), but all ticket proceeds go directly to the charities. And, The Bon will contribute 5 percent of its net sales that night to the charities.

Shoppers can take advantage of The Bon’s After-Thanksgiving Sale before it’s available to the public. And, as they browse and buy, they can enjoy live holiday music, refreshments, free gift wrapping, door prizes, an early visit from Santa Claus and informal modeling amid lavish holiday decor. Parking is free at the Parkade.

A few words about this year’s charity organizations:

Children’s Home Society of Washington is celebrating its 100th year of helping children thrive by building on the strengths of children, families and communities. Its services include Adoption Resource, Family Life Program, Relatives Raising Relatives, Support Groups and Families for Kids.

Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery is a community-funded nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing child abuse and neglect. The nursery provides emergency respite care for children, birth through 6 years old, for up to 72 hours. Staff members also provide crisis counseling, referral services and parent education.

Inland Northwest Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for all children and adults with developmental disabilities.

To order shopping tickets directly, call one of the charities: Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery, 535-3155; Children’s Home Society of Washington, 747-4174; Inland Northwest Area Special Olympics, 327-1663. Tickets are also available at The Bon’s gift wrap and customer service department.

Donations

ICM Asset Management, a local money-management firm, recently celebrated its 15 years in business. More than 300 people attended a reception in the firm’s new offices in the Washington Mutual Building.

During a brief ceremony, firm president Jim Simmons presented Don Kaufman from Spokane’s Big Brothers and Sisters with a $1,500 check, representing $100 for every year the company has been in business.

Clubs

Epsilon Chapter of Epsilon Sigma Alpha Sorority awarded a $500 scholarship to Marilyn Caruthers, a dental hygienist major at Eastern Washington University.

The chapter, celebrating its 40th year, recently presented $18,000 to the St. Jude Research for Children. The money was earned through pledges and donations collected during a radiothon with KDRK.

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