Skip to content

Richmond ladies' purse power raises $8,000 for girls in sports

Armed with 360 handbags and purses and around 200 women’s scarves, a group of Richmond ladies went to bat for the girls last week.

Armed with 360 handbags and purses and around 200 women’s scarves, a group of Richmond ladies went to bat for the girls last week.

And in the process, they raised an estimated $8,000 to go towards girls’ participation in sport, via non-profit KidSport.

Their inaugural event, held at Richmond Curling Club, was called “Power of the Purse” and involved the sale of donated, gently used and new handbags, purses and scarves.

The ladies sold around 120 tickets, at $20 each, for the event so quickly that they had to stop publicizing the event to keep it manageable.

“The energy in the room was electrifying...women coming together to help support girls participation in sports in Richmond,” said Kathy Ganeff, who organized Power of the Purse, along with Elaine Campbell, Barb Maguire and Lorene Yonemura.

“We had amazing support from all of our volunteers and donors, we couldn't have done it without them.

“We had so many people say that, now they know what this is all about, they will tell all their friends for the next one.”

Richmond ladies' purse power raises $8,000 for girls in sports_2

The ladies were selling bags and purses, some Kate Spade and Coach, for $5, $10 and $20, while the scarves were $10 or 3/$25.

There was a silent and live auction, as well as three door prizes to help boost the fundraising effort.

“We all used to fundraise for various events, including Nite of Hope, and we wanted to do something again for the community,” added Ganeff, explaining that she believes that girls in big families, where money might be tight, don’t always get to play sport.

“The boys usually get first dibs.”

Ganeff said the ladies will meet soon to decide whether or not to make Power of the Purse an annual event.