Angelwood teamed up once again with Underwood Jewelers for its annual tradition of hosting a trunk show to benefit the nonprofit’s mission of assisting families in the care for the special needs of their loved ones.
According to Angelwood CEO Diane Tuttle, it is a mission that has been the focus ever since the nonprofit was founded 30 years ago, and relationships with local businesses such as Underwood Jewelers go a long way in helping the cause.
“They (Underwood Jewelers) have always been so good to us, and it’s something that goes on all year long,” Tuttle said.
The trunk show event featured jewelry from the 2023 spring collection of Penny Preville, with a portion of the sales from those items going toward Angelwood.
The money raised during the event will go toward helping the nonprofit with any general needs that arise.
“We have to raise a lot of money throughout the year, because we have five group homes and we really work to keep them up and just went through a renovation with bathrooms in two of the houses,” Tuttle said. “There is a lot of maintenance that goes into it, but it is also a great way for volunteers to get involved.”
The nonprofit also has a fleet of seven vehicles to help transport those it offers to help, which require their own regular service and maintenance as well.
“All of that is ancillary, but at the end of the day, it’s about the people that we are taking care of,” Tuttle said. “We have a summer camp for kids, and we’ll not only take the child who personally has a disability, but we also take their siblings.”
The unique approach of having an integrated camp is one way that Tuttle believes Angelwood is embracing that the whole family plays a bigger role to play.
“When there’s a developmental difference in a family, the whole family lives with it,” Tuttle said. “A lot of the reasons why we started the camp in the first place is because there are so many great camps in the summer, but our kids can’t go to 90% of them because they might need help walking. By having a camp where we can help with that just makes the experience even more special for them.”
According to Tuttle, the summer camps like so much that Angelwood offers is done with the hopes of letting families feel the comfort of knowing that they are not doing it alone in the world and that there is someone who has their back and there to help them along their journey.
“We’ve encountered so many parents over our 30 years of helping, and they all love their children so dearly,” Tuttle said. “Knowing they’re not alone means the world to them.”
One of the more recent ways Angelwood is looking to help and raise money is possibly by opening a thrift store, which they are currently in the process of looking into and gathering all the data to see if it is the right avenue to take at this point.
“Our hope with the thrift store would possibly be to have it serve as a training ground where folks can learn retail in the community,” Tuttle said. “They may start as a volunteer but then eventually make some money and even go out and get a job somewhere else. We’re really excited about that.”
