Woman’s purchases ‘from the heart’ for Ogden Hall

Lorie Hughes doesn’t see herself as a benefactor or as a donor, but the 52-year old Spokane Valley resident was recently honored as an “Every Day Hero” by the Spokane Valley Kiwanis Club for filling six large storage containers full of donations for area mothers and children.

“I guess I went a little haywire,” Hughes said.

For the past 10 years, the Kiwanis Club has donated infant and toddler clothing to the Ogden Hall shelter in Spokane, purchased through the children’s department at J.C. Penney at the Spokane Valley Mall where Hughes is a supervisor.

Hughes, who has worked at the store for more than 16 years, was always the Kiwanis’ contact at the store and decided to start purchasing items throughout the year as they went on sale in order to donate them.

She didn’t start out with high ambitions, just the desire to boost the children’s spirits.

“I’m doing this from the heart. That’s what I was always taught, and that’s what I taught my kids,” Hughes said.

Because she was able to buy items as they went on sale year round, she began to collect more and more each year, but last year she went on a spree.

“I’ve always added in just a little extra for the kids with things I purchased. I would buy candy canes, stuffed animals, backpacks,” Hughes said. “Last year, I don’t know why, I bought a lot more than usual.”

Hughes also purchased winter clothing, coloring books and crayons.

Debi Pauletto, director of Ogden Hall, said the shelter is completely dependent on private donations for support, so the donations made during the holiday season help sustain the organization year-round.

“We were the recipients of her generosity,” Pauletto said. “A lot of times women and their children arrive here without anything. We like to give them a pair of pajamas and slippers, and (Hughes) has made that possible.”