Windermere stages wine-tasting to fund ‘Clothes for Kids’

"Clothes for Kids" is based in Lynnwood, but the Marysville office of Windermere Real Estate hopes to help the 24-year-old organization continue to meet the clothing needs of low-income children throughout Snohomish County.

MARYSVILLE — “Clothes for Kids” is based in Lynnwood, but the Marysville office of Windermere Real Estate hopes to help the 24-year-old organization continue to meet the clothing needs of low-income children throughout Snohomish County.

To that end, the Marysville Windermere office is collecting clothes for kids, and staging a wine-tasting event at WineStyles of Marysville, located in Suite A on 6608 64th St. NE, from 4-9 p.m. on Nov. 13.

Marysville Windermere realtor Cheryl Forkner, a member of the Snohomish County Windermere Foundation Committee, explained that Windermere has conducted annual fundraisers for an assortment of different charities. However, because part of that funding comes from their real estate sales, with a certain amount of money being set aside per sale, their funds for charities have gone down as of late.

“Our agents can choose to give more, and a lot of them do, but if they’re not making as much money, they can’t donate as much either,” Forkner said.

Windermere had previously donated to “Clothes for Kids,” but it wasn’t until Forkner 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 is collecting new underwear and socks, and both new and used jackets, gloves and other clothing items, for kids and adult women alike.

The Nov. 13 wine-tasting event is pre-selling tickets for $20 per person, and selling tickets at the door for $25 per person. Each ticket entitles an attendee to taste a variety of wines, with light snacks and pizza available for additional purchase. Moreover, WineStyles will have an array of gift baskets, edible treats, wines and wine accessories available for holiday shoppers. Percentages of all sales made that night 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.