Audrey's Home of Hope moves closer to opening

Submitted At a recent volunteers meeting, Dianne Laury, volunteers manager; Jennifer Lemerise, co-founder of Audrey’s Home of Hope, Rosie Tucker, founder of Sensibly Chic and manager of Audrey’s Resale Boutique, and Laurie Haluska, staging manager, proudly stand behind the Northwest Arkansas Best of the Best award that was presented to Rosie Tucker for the “Best Consignment Shop” in 2013.
Submitted At a recent volunteers meeting, Dianne Laury, volunteers manager; Jennifer Lemerise, co-founder of Audrey’s Home of Hope, Rosie Tucker, founder of Sensibly Chic and manager of Audrey’s Resale Boutique, and Laurie Haluska, staging manager, proudly stand behind the Northwest Arkansas Best of the Best award that was presented to Rosie Tucker for the “Best Consignment Shop” in 2013.

On Feb. 10, 2015, Rosie Tucker addressed the assemblage of volunteers for her new shop, saying, "What is your passion? 'Audrey's' is here to give you a venue to indulge that passion: individually or in a buddy system."

Like a Phoenix out of the ashes, Bella Vista and surrounding communities will again enjoy the splendor that was previously known as Sensibly Chic, every woman's dream shop that was destroyed by fire on May 2, 2014.

Rosie Tucker, owner and founder of Sensibly Chic was ecstatic when she was asked to apply her experience, talents and remarkable success to a slightly different concept of the same basic format. The new shop will "give everything the customer deserves while giving Audrey's Home of Hope everything it deserves," according to Rosie.

Located at 1729 Forest Hills Blvd. in the Highlander Plaza complex (next to Subway), the shop will open as Audrey's Resale Boutique with net proceeds going to Audrey's Home of Hope.

"The new concept is a win-win proposition," said Jennifer Lemerise, co-founder of Audrey's. "Instead of consignment, all items will be donated, thus giving the donor full tax credit, instead of having to pay taxes on whatever monies would have been realized from the consignments."

The shop will feature boutique caliber clothing, accessories, and unique home accessories and furnishings.

During the meeting at the Mercy Community Center, the prospective volunteers were offered opportunities to sign up that fit their specific talents and interests. Some of the volunteer opportunities include sales, back room, merchandizing, social media, public relations, maintenance, furniture delivery/pick-up, and even 'outside the box.'

"All are welcome to participate and we will find a job that suits them," Tucker said. "Women love to be part of a great experience and this boutique offers both: a fun shop and a remarkable opportunity to help pregnant mothers in crisis," she added. "I cannot wait for it to be opened."

Opening date should be within the month, depending on the progress of remodeling the space.

"We are very excited to announce that Dianne Laury, a retired human resources manager, will be in charge of our volunteers, and Laurie Haluska, an interior decorator, will be in charge of staging the shop," Tucker told the group.

The benefiting organization -- Audrey's Home of Hope -- is a work in progress to provide a beautiful and safe home for pregnant women in crisis. AHH's goal is to reflect and reinforce a woman's self-value and the miracle and value of new life, it was stated. AHH works in cooperation with local affiliate organizations: Northwest Arkansas Women's Shelter, Havenwood, Loving Choices, Oasis, Compassion House, and Souls Harbor.

Sponsoring organizations for AHH are Walmart, Soltelnetworks, Janky's Liquidation, Clark Fine Furnishings, Catholic Charities, The Knights of Columbus, and Keith Morrison, the Adoption World. Monetary contributions come from fundraising events as well as individual donations and pledges.

The greatest among these donors is an anonymous angel named Francis who is challenging the community to rise to the need: Francis will donate $2 for every $1 donated or pledged, up to $100K.

Donations to AHH can be made at any Arvest Bank or on the website: http//audreyshomeofhope.org. Donations for Audrey's Resale Boutique can be made 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. any weekday at the shop. To volunteer assistance, for additional information, or to arrange pick-up service, contact Tucker at 479-531-9937. All donations of money or goods are 100 percent tax deductible to a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.

Business on 03/04/2015