Trish Bennett, Editor
ASHVILLE – A dedicated group of crafters used their mutual hobby for the ninth time on Saturday to raise money for a charity in honor of one of their own.
Though the results are still being tallied, the Ashville Scissor Sisters Ninth Annual Benefit Crop at Walnut Elementary School has already raised more than $5,000 for the Pulmonary Hypertension Association, according to organizer Debbie Frazier. The charity was chosen in honor of fellow member Molly Schiff, who suffers from the disease.
“After expenses, our profit this year was $3690.41, and there were donations made totaling $1610,” Frazier said. “We will have a few other incidentals to cover, but will send a donation to Pulmonary Hypertension Association of at least $5,000.”
She said Robyn Helsel of Pampered Chef also gives a percentage of her profits during the day to the event, but that figure is not yet available.
“We also make a donation of $200 to the Walnut Elementary Principal’s Fund in thanks for allowing us the use of the building,” Frazier said.
Saturday’s event hosted 62 croppers at a cost of $45 each and nine vendors who pay a fee to exhibit during the crop. It also included a Chinese auction and other fundraising activities throughout the event that ran from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The Ashville Scissor Sisters is a group of 14 friends and scrapbooking enthusiasts who enjoy each others’ company while working on their crafts, according to member Janice Sheets. The benefit crops began when they became aware of an elementary school student in the Teays Valley district who suffered from DiGeorge Syndrome, she said.
Dedicated to “Brandon’s Voice,” the first benefit crop event in 2007 helped raise some of the $11,000 cost of a machine that spoke for the boy when he typed words into it.
The following year, the late Judge John Adkins of Circleville Municipal Court was battling cancer, so the event was dedicated as the Crop For The Cure, raising $2,000 for cancer research.
Additional events raised $3,650 in 2009 for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation in honor of Jason Day, the son of one of the croppers who had been paralyzed in an accident as a teenager; $5,075 in 2010 for the Susan B. Komen Foundation in honor of Christie Eyerman; $4,000 in 2011 for Autism research; $4,012 in 2012 for the Special Olympics; $3,000 in 2013 split between the Women’s Alcohol and Drug Treatment program in Pickaway County and Phoenix House in Ross County; and $3,000 in 2014 for ALS in honor of the late Jim Mathers, who recently passed away from the disease.
“A lot of these have a personal connection to someone in the group,” Sheets said.
Participants not only spent the day scrapbooking but also worked on other craft projects like quilting, sewing and needlework.
The group was assisted by members of the Teays Valley FFA program who helped set up and tear down for the event, as well as helping participants load and unload throughout the day.
This article originally appeared on The Pickaway News Journal
