Rotary club invites you to gets hands-on with their handbags

Purses for a Purpose was so popular in its first year, many women begged the Maysville Rotary Club to have a similar sale the next year. Those women, and others, should get ready to shop. The Rotary fund-raiser will return with more purses and will feature an addition to the sale: a silent auction for six hand-painted wooden purses. Contributing artists include Skip Werline, Ken Swinson, Donna Huber, Karen Fulton, Jane Nelson and Bobbi Finch Brothers. Jackie Thomas, secretary for the Rotary and chair of the committee organizing Purses for a Purpose, said the hand-painted purses are a unique addition to the event that promotes local artists. She said the wooden purses will cover various subjects, but could not elaborate on the type of subjects. Thomas said she has not yet seen the purses and likely will not see them until Thursday, one day before the sale. Other donated purses are already on display downtown at the former Hendrickson's Paint Store on West Second Street. There are more than 300 purses of every color, shape and size, from name brands to vintage favorites. "With 300, you're going to have every kind," Thomas said. "There's not two alike. There are 300 totally different purses." Purses for a Purpose was so popular last year that women began lining up outside the store an hour before the doors opened, Thomas said. "It was like Black Friday, only it wasn't Black Friday," Thomas said. Many women took early breaks, vacation time, days off or their lunch hours to get to the sale. Thomas said if there is a particular purse a person is interested in, they must arrive early, or it may be gone. Costs for the purses range from $2 to $60. There will be door prize drawings with each sale. More than 60 door prizes have been donated, Thomas said. Among them, gift certificates to various restaurants, a free mammogram and free classes to the YMCA and Maysville Community and Technical College. A grand prize drawing for two UK basketball tickets will take place after the doors close. Last year, Thomas said the Rotary raised more than $2,300 with Purses for a Purpose. The Rotary decided to do Purses for a Purpose as a fund-raiser after Thomas read an article about a church having a similar project. The Rotary typically has the horse show and farm equipment sale as a fund-raiser. Purses for a Purpose targets the female Rotary members. The Rotary Club supports several local and international projects, including two scholarships to MCTC annually. It also is a sponsor for the Community Crib and Newspapers in Education. It also supports Polio Plus and Shelterbox, USA.