Art sale to aid future homeownership

An upcoming benefit for Habitat for Humanity's Women Build program will help Aikenites spruce up their homes while helping someone in need to build a home.

The fifth annual Art Show and Sale will take place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Winter Colony home Sunny Corner, located at 208 South Boundary Ave., on the corner of South Boundary and York Street.

Admission is free, and the sale will feature framed and unframed wall decor provided by Marketplace Wholesale Art, according to event Chairman Linda Purdy.

"We'll have a variety of original art and prints available, framed and unframed, and some mirrors," Purdy said. "Marketplace will bring all the art, and we'll have volunteers from the community to do the sales.

There will also be interior designers available to assist people with their selections."

Prices can range from $10 for small unframed prints to more than $1,000 for large framed original oil paintings, according to volunteer Tommie Culligan. Customers can pay by cash, check or major credit card.

"Attendance has been good every year. I think we sold more unframed art than framed last year," Culligan said.

"We have had repeat customers, people who come back year after year," Purdy said.

The organizing committee hopes to raise $5,000 to $6,000 with the event to kick off fundraising for the next Women Build project.

The last Women Build house was completed in December, and the majority of the project's $65,000 budget must be raised before work on a new house can begin.

"We hope this sale will get us off to a good start," volunteer Louise Plodinec said.

Culligan said, "We'd welcome a major sponsor for the next Women Build house."

As with all Habitat for Humanity projects, all labor for the construction project is donated, including a required "sweat equity" portion from the prospective home owner.

In Women Build projects, all the fundraising and construction work is done by women, and the home is sold to a woman.

"It makes a huge difference in these women's lives, having their own homes," said Culligan, who has volunteered on Women Build projects in the past.

The fundraiser's organizers are still looking for volunteers to help with the sale.

For more information or to volunteer, call Linda Purdy at (803) 270-6968.

Contact Suzanne Stone at sstone@aikenstandard.com.