Friends of Shelter redefines jewelry sales at Chairs event

Friends of Shelter redefines jewelry sales at Chairs event
Robertson County Times, TN

The Friends of the Shelters will be this year’s beneficiary to the chair sale for Chairs on the Square. But they are hoping to raise even more money to help the three local shelters and they’ve come up with a unique way to do it.
Friends of the Shelter will sell donated fine and costume jewelry at 50 percent of its appraised price.

“Most women love jewelry. We love bargains,” explain organizer Baygan Hartzheim. “And we love a good cause. The Springfield Chairs on the Square offered the (Friends of the Shelter) a wonderful opportunity to get involved in all three areas.

“The (Friends) were looking for a way to raise money to improve the existing shelters (Greenbrier and the City of Springfield) and contribute to the building fund for the new County Shelter.”

And the idea for the jewelry sale came to them.

“We are collecting costume, vintage, antique, and fine jewelry to sell at the May 19 Chairs on the Square,” Hartzheim continued. “Tee best part of the event is the jewelry will be sold at 50 percent off the appraisal price and the Community Foundation is helping us provide a tax deduction for any donations.

“We all have jewelry that we do not wear any more and what better cause to give it to! Some nice items have come in – a pearl ring with value of $750, an aquamarine and blue topaz ring, value $350, tons of necklaces, bracelets, and earrings.”

With a new county animal shelter in the works, more resources will be needed for the shelters.

Hartzheim hopes that improving the shelters will mean more people take animals to the shelters instead of dumping them in rural areas where they can get sick, hurt or killed.

“We want the shelters in Robertson County to be so nice, so humane that people think of them as a place they want to take strays to,” Hartzheim said. “We want people to be able to adopt healthy animals from our shelters. We want the shelters to help provide low cost spay and neuter programs.

“But all this takes money.”

Formerly known as Robertson County Humane Association, the group is in the process of “morphing” into Friends of the Shelter, according to Hartzheim.

“The reason is each shelter – Springfield, Greenbrier, the County and eventually maybe a few others like White House – needs a specific group of people to be responsive to each shelter needs,” Hartzheim explained. “For example, the county shelter needs construction funds, the Springfield shelter needs additional landscaping, and Greenbrier needs immunization shots. Friends of the Shelter will have a Greenbrier Branch, a County Branch, and a City Branch and hopefully be able to respond quickly to needs.”

The Friends are also pairing up new friends in the adoption process.

One of the best programs that has been initiated has been the Senior to Senior Program,” said Hartzheim. “We love to place senior dogs with senior citizens! Rescue funds are used to vet the senior doggy or cat and then they are placed up for adoption with first dibs going to a senior citizen. We recently had a peppy 8-year-old rat terrier mix dog find a home with an equally peppy 75-year-old senior.

“Neither could do without the other now. And by the way, any jewelry left over from the sale will be donated to the Senior Center ‘boutique.’”

Hartzheim has been working with the abandoned animals of Robertson County for many years.

“People often ask me why I started the Humane Association,” she explained. “It’s easy. Animal neglect, abuse, and abandonment, was a problem staring me right in the face. I live in the county and there are animals in all kinds of need running in and along the roads.

“And I was raised to tackle problems not avoid them even if tackling them was inconvenient or time consuming. For me, it was also the right ethical choice. The seven years I have spent working with animals have taught my three children that big overwhelming hard situations can be changed.

“The Humane Association has provided warm blankets to tiny shivering kittens, fed starving black Labs, transported sick German shepherds to vets, thrown out rusty cages and purchased clean stainless steel kennels. Good Samaritan actions prove to me that you can overcome evil with good.”

Jewelry donations are still needed as well as small boxes and velvet cases. The jewelry will be shown off to its best advantage in a unique way.

“We are displaying the bracelets on vintage long evening gloves,” described Hartzheim. “We are hanging antique pins on old evening dresses.”

Anyone wanting to spearhead a collection drive, for example, a church youth group, a Girl Scout Troop or a school group should call Hartzheim at 347-0217 and she will help co ordinate the effort.