Chairs for Charity a HUGE Success

As Published in The Langley Advance
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
by Heather Colpitts
All photos by Healther Colpitts

No Sitting Down on the Job Here

Terry Smith

A new fundraising event could become an annual holiday tradition with the success of Chairs for Charity.

On Oct. 27, 19 chairs were auctioned off with the proceeds going to the Langley Christmas Bureau.

The brainchild of Carrie Thachuk of The Passionate Home store in Langley, the event featured vintage chairs decorated in various motifs and sold through either a live auction or silent auction.

"I had a goal of $1,800 [raised]," she said. The final tally came in at $2,550 which will help the bureau make Christmas brighter for children whose families could not otherwise afford to provide them with gifts.

Carrie Thachuk, owner of The Passionate Home

Thachuk custom painted 15 of the chairs, a staffer did another three and Furniture and Upholstery donated the upholstering work. The chairs had been donated.
Organizers lined up support and tailored the chairs to specific themes. There was the Langley Rivermen chair and several from the Langley Starbucks, as well as local businesses. Celebrities Gabrielle Miller (of Corner Gas) and Cari Cucksey (of Cash and Cari) also lent their support to a chair apiece.

Maryanne Lechleiter from Urban Life Media collecting the silent auction bid sheets

Two bidders sharing a laugh

Local artist Lucy Adams even provided a matching painting along with her custom chair.
The fundraiser was a great deal of work but now that Thachuk has had time to sit and think, she's looking at having this event again in the future.She said those attending the auction helped make the decision. "People can't wait for next year," Thachuk said. "I think we're going to do it again."

hcolpitts@langleyadvance.com