ARLINGTON — The seventh annual “Taste of Washington” fundraiser for the Arlington-based Kids’ Kloset returned to the home of John and Kimberly Meno as the event’s 75 attendees donated through live and silent auctions on the evening of Aug. 27.
Kids’ Kloset Board President Julie Morse reported that the auctions raised a gross of more than $23,000, with Kelly Lee of the Arlington-based Lee Auctioneering and Consulting once again stepping into role of zany auctioneer for items as diverse as a puppy dog sculpture made of used car mufflers to a two-night stay at a Westport beach condo.
“We have the wonderfully generous people in attendance to thank for this,” Kids’ Kloset Board member Linda Dussault said.
Other items up for bid included a handcrafted wooden rocking horse and hope chest, a variety of fine wines and an assortment of cookies, chocolates and other desserts, as well as a golf foursome, a sailboat excursion, a family weekend retreat at Lake Wenatchee and even another party hosted by the Menos, this time during Mardi Gras.
“The ‘Taste of Washington’ is our sole fundraising event for each year,” Kids’ Kloset Treasurer Kimberly Meno said. “We typically have around 100 guests, and in the past three years we’ve raised approximately $28,000. We continue to be a 100 percent volunteer-operated non-profit.”
According to Meno, Kids’ Kloset served 1,012 students in the Arlington, Lakewood and Darrington school districts during the 2010-11 school year, and is currently scheduling appointments for students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch in all three of those school districts.
Among those organizations that already support Kids’ Kloset either through monetary donations or clothing drives are the Latter-Day Saints and Seventh Day Adventist churches, the Smokey Point Community Church, women’s groups at a number of other local churches, the local Masons Lodge and MOMS group, elementary schools in Arlington and Lakewood, HCI Steel, ABW Technologies and Gutierrez Chiropractic.
This past spring and summer, Meno noted that Kids’ Kloset had also received $2,500 each from the Rotary Club of Arlington, Opus Bank and United Way Outreach, and $5,000 each from Providence General Children’s Association, the Norman Archibald Foundation and the McEachern Charitable Trust Fund.
Kids’ Kloset is open this fall on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon and from 5-8 p.m. To volunteer or for more information, call 360-403-8696.
