Staff photo/Ian Gleadle
“ Your actions have led the way to show this community how groups can band together and achieve grand things,” Fran Walster, director of the Maltby Food Bank wrote in a letter addressed to the Gang from Clearview CafÈ above. (l-r) Janelle Garvin, Pam Shepherd, Carla Cannon, Pat Korten (owner), Pat Lindsey, Frankie Goodwin, Tina Vaughn. (Julia Jones and Linda Johnson not shown)

Clearview Café Gang proves a group doesn’t need to be rich or large to accomplish great things

They didn’t call themselves the Gang from the Clearview Café in the beginning. Nor did they set out to achieve mighty things. Instead, eight spirited women began meeting at the café to share friendship, laughter and conversation. During one of their café gabfests, their chat turned toward the topic of charity. An inspiration came over them. Why not unite their lively camaraderie and give something back to their community? Agreeing the suggestion was a good idea, they began brainstorming ways to raise money for a local charity. One of them threw out an offbeat thought. Frankie Goodwin, one of the group’s members, explained, “We were all sitting in the cocktail lounge at the Clearview Café and we were thinking of a charity project we’d like to do. Then somebody said, ‘One of the things we could do is make a quilt out of Crown Royal bags.’ And we all laughed.”

But the more the group thought on it, the unique concept seemed like a good one. Their plan soon fell in place. They’d create a quilt made out of blue felt Crown Royal bags, the cloth bag that comes with every bottle of the upscale whiskey. The gang planned to raffle the quilt off and donate the proceeds to the Maltby Food Bank. Several members had firsthand knowledge of the food bank’s care and assistance for families in crisis, which made it their charity of choice.

Once the word about the quilt spread to the café’s customers, others wanted to pitch in and help. Pat Lindsey, one of the eight women, described what happened next, “When other customers heard what we were doing, it ballooned from there,” she said as Goodwin added, “People went to other bars to get felt bags for us. And we had a little flyer with my phone number and Pat’s, so they knew how to contact us.”

The women hoped to raise $500. But before they knew it, their fundraising revenue blew past the $500 mark. “We were going to be happy with $500,” said Carla Cannon, another group member and Goodwin’s daughter. “But an anonymous donor gave us $1,800. And the rest of the money was raised on raffle tickets, which we sold for $5 each. We sold the tickets at the lawnmower shop, Whiteside Steel, the Eagle’s organization, anywhere we could.”

Lindsey kidded, “No one was safe at the café either.”

Clearview Café owner Pat Korten, along with Lindsey, contributed personal finances toward expenses for materials. Then the women got busy. “It was a fun project,” Lindsey recalled of the month they spent working together on their queen-size, distillery-themed quilt. “Everyone came to my house and we had a quilting party. We cut the fronts off the felt bags and Carla ironed them all.”

Goodwin noted, “Pat and I sewed.”

When they completed the quilt, the Clearview gang showed it to Fran Walster, Maltby Food Bank director. “Fran just couldn’t believe it. She was just astounded,” said Cannon.

On July 4, Harvey Knapp of Bothell won the quilt in a raffle drawing. But the women had one more task before completing their mission. In a private ceremony, they presented Walster with a cashier’s check for $2,445.

Walster said she’ll place their generous donation toward the Maltby Food Bank capital campaign fund—a campaign to raise $195,000 to purchase the building and property the food bank has rented for the past six years. As the owners, the food bank plans to remodel the building and open up space for classrooms, a seating area, a well child clinic and a walk-in freezer/cooler.

In a thank you letter to the Clearview Café Gang, Walster wrote: “Since this need [to raise $195,000] has only been known for two months, I feel this is a great start. Some people have told me, ‘we can’t give much’ and I know that every donation, no matter the size, helps us get closer to our goal. Yet, your group has shown others that you don’t need to be rich or large to accomplish great things. Your actions have led the way to show this community how groups can band together and achieve grand things.”

To date, the food bank has raised $55,000 and continues to seek the community’s help in achieving their ownership goal. Those interested in contributing to the Maltby Food Bank’s capital fund, send donations to: Maltby Food Bank, P.O. Box 1256, Snohomish, WA 98291. For additional information, contact Bill Schink (425) 398-2412.