Not Even Mary Poppins did so Much Good with her Handbag

Ladies and their bags: only on rare occasions do you spot them without some sort of clutch, purse or portable luggage, a fact that spurred an idea in the coordinator’s at Habitat for Humanity.

Friday at lunch time, they set the plan in motion in the Emmanuel Episcopal Church’s ‘Great Room,’ offering a space where women could eat and bid on designer purses together for a good cause. The event sold out two weeks prior to Friday’s ‘Handbags for Habitat.

Anna Thomas, a local volunteer, helped to organize the event. “This idea came out of nowhere,” she said. “I gave Patsy Kneller a bag, and from that came this idea to have a fundraiser.”

Dr. Marsha Griffin, chief of general pediatrics at Brownsville Community Health Center, and an advocate for helping the underprivileged, was the keynote speaker.

Thomas hopes to get many more keynote speakers like Dr. Griffin, describing their efforts as “strong women talking to strong women.”

Many local merchants and individuals donated the 35 handbags available for bidding, including Cybil Shepard of “Psych” and “Moonlighting” fame.

Handbags for Habitat has been highly successful, with every ticket sold prior to the event.

“So far we’ve filled every seat we can, hopefully we will be able to move to a larger venue for subsequent events,” said Thomas.

All proceeds from the silent auction on purses will go towards Habitat for Humanity’s mission to build houses with no interest loans for low income families.

“It’s a wonderful organization,” said Thomas.

For more information on Habitat For Humanity, drop by their office at 401 N. Chadbourne, visit www.habitatsanangelo.org, or call (325) 655-7535