Now is the time to treat yourself while giving back to the community.
For the sixth year, Lilly Lane Boutique is holding its annual handbag trade-in event benefitting the Family Refuge Center.
Simply bring in any gently used handbag, tote, or travel bag to Lilly Lane and receive 20 percent off your purchase of a new, regularly priced handbag. The donated bags are then given to the Family Refuge Center to be distributed to its residents and women they serve. The handbag event runs this month from Mar.10-17.
Lilly Lane Boutique owner Mondi Haynes says she started the event to help the community.
“When I moved here from Memphis, Tenn., I saw the need to help the community, and I loved the idea of the Family Refuge Center,” Haynes said.
Haynes says she got the idea from Dillard’s department store where she had previously worked for many years.
Haynes said she makes donations to the Family Refuge Center regularly, even outside of this event, and the people running the center have come to know her really well.
Haynes told stories of customers that will often bring in bags to donate even when her event is not happening or when they are not making purchases. The event has become something of a staple in the community since its inception; it is an easy and helpful way to give back. She also said that sometimes during the event a representative of the Family Refuge Center will come to the shop so they can thank those who donate in person. Many of the bags brought in are high-end bags such as Coach or Dooney & Bourke. These bags are an asset to women who come to the center. Some of the women escaping an abusive situation may have to leave with nothing but the clothes they are wearing.
The Family Refuge Center provides a range of services to those in need. They offer advocacy for victims of elder abuse, which includes physical, financial, emotional, and sexual abuse as well as neglect and abandonment. They also provide an emergency shelter for domestic and sexual violence survivors. Other services include a family visitation center, prevention education, therapy and victim advocates. The center serves Greenbrier, Monroe and Pocahontas counties. Supporting the FRC is supporting survivors. The Family Refuge Center is “committed to ending physical, sexual and emotional abuse in families.”
Handbags can be donated through Lilly Lane Boutique at any time, the only difference will be that the donor will not receive the discount that comes with donating during the trade-in event.
The shop carries a multitude of beautiful new bags to choose from. Brands include Vera Bradley, Spartina, and a new line of recycled military bags. Those fashionable bags are made from recycled military tents and feature different camouflage patterns. Haynes says they have been very popular.
In addition to handbags, Lilly Lane Boutique also carries jewelry and home decor including Willow Tree items. New items are often posted to the shop’s Facebook page, Lilly Lane Boutique.
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