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The Vineyards Women’s 18 Hole Golf Association held its annual charity golf day, March 3rd 2015, to benefit The Shelter for Abused Women & Children.

At time of writing, the grand total raised was $23,040, an all-time record. In addition, a large contribution was collected for The Shelter’s food bank, and three significant corporate donations of goods were made directly to The Shelter.

Over 70 lady golfers played the Vineyards South Course, competed for prizes, and brought their generosity with them. Donations, auction bids, raffle tickets, hole sponsorships, and a food drive were all part of the fund-raising efforts.

Over 50 external (local and national) businesses and service providers, and employees of the Club, also contributed.

At luncheon following golf, Rebecca Thompson, Stewardship Manager at the Shelter, reviewed The Shelter’s activities, explaining the depth and breadth of the services they provide, from accommodations to counseling to outreach and more. The Shelter, a 501(c)3 registered charity, receives no county funding and so fund-raisers like this one form an important part of  their budget.

Saks volunteers and helpers manned the collection truck during the March 5-6 event, which brought in hundreds of new and gently used items for The Shelter’s Options Thrift Shoppe.

Thank you to Saks Fifth Avenue for sponsoring the Drop, Donate, Dip for Dollars event, March 5-6, at their store in the Waterside Shops.

The event collected hundreds of new or gently used clothing, handbags, shoes and accessories for The Shelter’s Options Thrift Shoppe.

In addition to the donations, The Shelter appreciates:

1. The education and awareness that was created during the Drop, Donate, Dip for Dollars Sales event on March 5^th and 6^th.
2. The fabulous opportunity to receive high quality donations for Options
3. Saks Fifth Avenue’s generosity in providing gift cards and a special raffle for those who participated in the event

The Women of The Tarpon Club at Fiddler’s Creek (a beach and boating club) raised just under $500 for The Shelter during their Ladies’ Luncheon, Feb. 9, 2015. From left, Kim Frangos, Angele Sarkar, Jennifer Rankine and Aga Edwards.

Thank you to J. McLaughlin for supporting The Shelter with this fun Sip & Shop Preview of their Spring Collection!
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NAPLES DAILY NEWS – Neapolitan Section, January 3, 2015

By Kelly Farrell

Local Girl Scouts Addie Boliek, 9, and Hailey Collins, 8, at center, pose for a photo with family members after delivering their Brownie troop’s donated goods to the Shelter for Abused Women and Children on Dec. 18, 2014. Kelley Sartori, Collins’ grandmother (second from right), is an avid coupon clipper with a book coming out soon on the subject.

A Naples resident found a way to collect coupons for a cause.

Kelley Sartori, 51, turned what some find tedious and time- consuming into an opportunity to give — one that benefitted The Shelter for Abused Women and Children and taught math skills to a group of Girl Scouts.

Sartori’s daughter, Jocelynn Collins, who is a troop leader, and Sartori’s granddaughter, Hailey Collins, 8, were among the first to get together to learn about couponing and potentially earn badges while improving math skills. The troop also learned finance and organizational skills through couponing.

“My granddaughter loves to go couponing with me. She works her own deals,” Sartori said.

The girls and Sartori began gathering their donation — collected and expanded through coupon clipping — in the months before the December holidays. Sartori collected cash donations from colleagues and friends. She then made a small cash contribution totaling just less than $100 in cash. Sartori was able to purchase more than $400 worth of goods for less than $100 because of all the coupons she and the girls gathered, organized and calculated. The donation was delivered just before Christmas to a full shelter.

“This was pretty unique. It’s not something we’ve seen here before. It’s very creative and it shows everyone in our community can make a difference,” said Linda Oberhaus, executive director for The Shelter for Abused Women & Children in Naples.

The donation, made up largely of food gathered through coupons, fit a great need and came at a perfect time, Oberhaus added.

There are about 60 people in the shelter now, including 27 children, all being fed breakfast, lunch and dinner. Adding up to about 180 meals served daily, food is something the shelter goes through, she said.

NO LONGER A NOVICE

Sartori became so good at using coupons that she has actually made money while shopping.

“The largest amount I made was $40. My husband, Tony, he says he doesn’t want to go shopping with me. When I got that $40 back, he said: ‘Now, I get it,’ ” Sartori recalled.

She jokes about the couple’s shopping style challenges.

“I don’t want to walk out of the house without a coupon. If he starts just throwing things into the buggy and it’s something I had the coupon for…,” Sartori trails off.

The savvy shopper has saved thousands each year and became a backup pantry to her nearby adult children when they need quick supplies. However, those couponing skills took time to develop, she said.

“About three to four years ago, I just wanted to know if I could do it. The first couple times at the register were horrifying experiences. I didn’t know the coupon policies. In the beginning, it took hours to do it,” Sartori said.

After gaining experience and saving hundreds each month for her family and extended family, she decided to put together a book, “Coupons Decoded,” and a website so that others can skip the challenges she faced and launch right into savings with coupons.

Andi Boliek, a Naples resident and one of Sartori’s co-workers at a Naples chiropractic office, is eager for the website. Boliek’s daughter, Addison, also a Girl Scout, took to couponing quickly with Sartori. Boliek seeks to gain more skills to make the process more efficient for her family’s savings long-term.

“Addison was excited and thought it was neat. She was excited to do the cutting. Addison says: ‘Let’s go! I want to cut more coupons,'” Boliek said.

Boliek said it’s still too time-consuming for her. She is waiting for Sartori’s website, www.CouponDecoded.Cash, to fully launch, so that she can just copy the deals Sartori has found.

“I’d like to learn how to do the couponing, too. I just don’t think I have the time to sit and get organized, but (Sartori) is great at it. It would help me to figure out how to sort it out,” said Boliek.

GOING PUBLIC

Sartori has partnered with local publisher and marketing firm, GT5, which was recently in a three-day workshop with other businesses across the nation, and, of the group participating, GT5 was voted most likely to become the next million-dollar or multi-million-dollar business.

GT5 is publishing Sartori’s book, “Coupons Decoded: Clipping Your Way to Wealth Through Savings,” which will become available for the first time at an event celebrating GT5’s success. The event is the Celebration for World Champion Millionaire Maker Party, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., Jan. 22, at GT5 publishers in VentureX, Mercato, 9128 Strada Place. Sartori will also sell the book through her website.

In the meantime, Sartori offered these quick couponing tips:

• “Stack,” or piggyback, coupons from individual stores with manufacturer coupons.
• Use coupons on trial or travel sizes, when permitted, to get them free or at minimal cost.
• Use price matching from other stores to get the lowest price where you’re shopping, and then apply coupons after the price match.
• Use manufacturer coupons at dollar stores.
• Use coupons on clearance items.
• Stock up on non-perishables.

Thanks to the American Kennel Club, our four-legged shelter residents had a happy holiday with WOOFipedia Christmas stockings for each dog. We are grateful to the AKC for its financial support that allows our residents to bring their pets with them when they enter the Emergency Shelter.

For more information on The Shelter’s kennel and how you can help CLICK HERE

Holiday ‘elves’ from the Naples Woman’s Club delivered hand-made stockings filled with goodies for Shelter residents.

From left, Shelter Events Manager Susan Utz, Joy Buck, Shelter Community Education Manager Jason Young, Pat Limbach, Shelter Executive Assistant Karen Smith, Ivone Smith, Shelter Volunteer Coordinator Jamie Gerry and Lee Kraus.