Loving Hearts volunteers pose in front of their new shed. They are looking forward to being able to bring items out of storage and closer to the store.
Loving Hearts Toy Sale Dec. 10 included more gifts than ever before and many of the items were new. The rest were hand selected from donations throughout the year.
Candy Bell wrapping presents at this year's Toy Sale.
SEELEY LAKE – Loving Hearts continues to grow and expand while also offering their annual events including the Christmas Toy Sale and Fashion Show. The volunteers are thankful for the community's support that allows them to continue their ministry and supporting those in need.
For more than a year, Loving Hearts has rented a storage unit for donations and has been keeping items for the Toy Sale and Fashion Show and housing them at Manager Mary Newpower's home. Their dream has been to have a space that would allow them to organize and store items close to the store.
Newpower said it has been an exceptional year for Loving Hearts. This year the thrift store has made almost $20,000.
"The community has blessed us," said Newpower. "We thought now is the time to use the money that we have had in our building fund so we can continue to bless the community."
Loving Hearts purchased the new storage unit from Premier Builders out of Lolo, Mont. It arrived Wednesday, Dec. 11.
Loving Hearts now has three storage units on the property behind the main store. One will be used as a staging room for items as they come into season. The other two will house summer and winter items.
"It is really exciting," said Newpower. "Everyone has been so great."
Tuesday, Dec. 10 they hosted their annual Christmas Toy Sale. Stuffed animals, games, books, arts and crafts, musical instruments, recreation equipment, toys and more filled the tables and lined the walls. Many of the items were new that Newpower purchased throughout the year. The rest were donations that were hand-picked by volunteers and set aside for the event.
This year volunteers priced the items ahead of the sale which saved a lot of time during setup. Volunteers said this year they had more items for sale than ever before. All items are priced between $0.25 - $5. The event raised nearly $600.
Everyone was pleased with the turn out and happy to see a diversity of community members taking advantage of the sale. Newpower expressed how thankful she is for all the volunteers that made the Toy Sale a success and they continue to work at the store.
The toys and Christmas items that were not sold during the event are still available at Loving Hearts. By the end of the week they will be donated to Seeley Lake Elementary for their annual Christmas Store.
Newpower said while they appreciate all the donations, she asks people drop off items when the store is open 10am-1pm on Saturdays and 11am-3pm on Wednesdays. She also can't accept large items including furniture or TVs.
"We are a non profit. We have to pay to dump all that," said Newpower who used to go to the dump once a month and now sometimes has to go twice a week. She also has to pay to dump the large items. "That cuts into what I can give back to the community."
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