Windermere, WineStyles team up to provide ‘Clothes for Kids’

MARYSVILLE — WineStyles of Marysville saw dozens of wine enthusiasts come through its doors on the evening of Nov. 13 in support of those in need.

The Marysville office of Windermere Real Estate staged a five-hour wine-tasting fundraiser at WineStyles on behalf of the Lynnwood-based “Clothes for Kids,” a 24-year-old organization which seeks to meet the clothing needs of low-income children throughout Snohomish County.

Realtors, lenders, home buyers and sellers, and their friends and family members turned out to peruse WineStyles’ selection of wines, in flavors including fruity, mellow, bold, crisp, silky, rich, bubbly and nectar, as well as to check out its wine-related accessories.

Event organizer Jean Cory arrived early to join fellow Marysville Windermere office employee Shelia Simmons and Christine Jones, of Old Republic Title and Escrow, in sampling sips of a variety of wines, while Jesica Slocum and Kate McCullough browsed through an assortment of bottle openers.

While Chris Anderson of Golf Savings Bank examined the labels of WineStyles’ fruity wines, Sue Hall of Guild Mortgage expressed delight at the “vinturi” aerator that WineStyles’ Jody Holley demonstrated for her.

“It infuses the wine with air,” Holley said, as she poured wine through the vinturi into a glass. “It’s like a decanter, only it works instantly.”

“You can really tell the difference in its taste,” Hall said. “I’ll have to buy this for one of my friends, so they can use it when I come over. Windermere has been a great supporter of the community, and this group in particular has been together and doing things like this for a long time. It’s just just nice that I was able to be included.”

Bonnie Krueger works at Marysville-Pilchuck High School and heard about the wine-tasting fundraiser from a realtor friend. She echoed Hall’s kinds words about Windermere.

“It’s a great cause on behalf of needly families,” Krueger said. “There are more of them this year than ever, I think. Windermere is always great about stepping up to help.”

Connie Redden, of the Marysville Windermere office, also used the event to shop for “great gift finds” for her friends, including a wall decoration that also serves as a wine bottle holder, but in between sips of “hearty merlot,” she recalled speaking to “Clothes for Kids” Executive Director Mark Smith. Smith had told the Marysville Windermere office the story of a young boy who wore his father’s shoes to school, then came home and gave those shoes to his father, so that the father could wear them to work.

“He finally told us that the boy had been him,” Redden said. “He’d been in need as a kid, and now, as an adult, he’s able to give back.”

Marysville Windermere realtor Cheryl Forkner, a member of the Snohomish County Windermere Foundation Committee, explained that Windermere had previously donated to “Clothes for Kids,” but it wasn’t until she saw the organization profiled on a KOMO 4 News “Problem Solvers” segment that she became aware of the acuteness of its need.

“We don’t know who all goes to Lynnwood for this,” Forkner said. “We can’t just be in a Marysville-centric bubble about this. This need affects the whole county.”

While the organization’s clothing needs focus mostly on children, all the way up to teenagers, Forkner noted that “Clothes for Kids” also seeks to furnish adult women with wardrobes they can wear to work. As such, the Marysville Windermere office has also collecting new underwear and socks, and both new and used jackets, gloves and other clothing items, for kids and adult women alike.

Percentages of all sales made at WineStyles Nov. 13 will go to charity.

To learn more, you may call Jean Cory at 425-335-5769. The Marysville Windermere office is located on 801 State Ave.

Marysville Globe Reporter Kirk Boxleitner can be reached at kboxleitner@marysvilleglobe.com or 360-659-1300.

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