(WATERTOWN, NY) – The Volunteer Transportation Center Foundation Inc. has announced its annual Posh Purse Palooza has been deemed a success, raising approximately $12,000.
The nonprofit organization’s event – held May 7 at Garland City Beer Works, Watertown – raised money for the Volunteer Transportation Center to support the services it provides to the community.
“Once again, we saw a great year for this event, thanks to the amazing support of the community, including our sponsors,” said Jeremiah S. Papineau, the nonprofit organization’s Director of Communications and Foundation Director. “It’s always heartwarming to see how generous people are, which translates to more money raised to help the VTC provide transportation for people here in need.”
Posh Purse Palooza, which started in 2015, has been held annually, with the exception of 2020, when the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Papineau attributes the popularity of the event to the high quality donations of purses and items that are auctioned with each purse, giving bidders amazing value for their bids.
“This fundraiser continues to be successful thanks to pairing the in-person auction with the convenience of bidding online,” Mr. Papineau said.
The online auction component initially consisted of 10 purses available for bids prior to the in-person auction. An additional 15 purses were up for bids the night of the event at Garland City Beer Works and, at that point, all 25 were able to be bid on until the end of the evening. Additional purses were also raffled at the event.
In addition, Garland City Beer Works again offered a signature drink this year in the month leading up to the event, with proceeds from every cocktail going directly to the VTC Foundation. The business also offered a round up option during the month leading up to the event, allowing patrons to round their tabs up to the nearest dollar, to benefit VTC.
“We can never express enough appreciation for all Garland City Beer Works does for us and, honestly, the community,” said Mr. Papineau. “We are so thankful for their support and we’re thankful to all their customers.”
Posh Purse Palooza, which marked its 11th year, is a silent auction event that features new or gently-used purses filled with various items like gift certificates, jewelry, bottles of wine, scarves, cosmetics and more. Purses are donated by generous people in the community – either filled with items or without and then stuffed with donations from businesses and other individuals in the community.
Designers this year included Coach, Dooney & Bourke, Fossil, Kate Spade, Michael Kors and others. Guests at the event were able to place bids in the silent auction of the purses while mingling and enjoying food and drink from Garland City Beer Works.
This year’s Posh Purse Palooza was made possible by: Underwriters – Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, Watertown Savings Bank, Stewart’s Shops, and Advanced Business Systems. Platinum Level Sponsors – Black Horse Group, Jake Johnson Properties, Knowlton Technologies, Overhead Door Company, and Samaritan Medical Center; Gold Level Sponsors – Cam’s Pizzeria, Lake Ontario Realty – Audrey Colello, Northern Lights Chiropractic, Pete’s Trattoria, Rudd’s Town & Country, and Ms. Rosina Vandewall; and Silver Level Sponsors – Carthage Savings and Loan, DGM Coon & Company, Independent Commercial Contractors, Miz Betty’s Delights, and The Dockside Pub. Additional support was provided by United Way of Northern New York and Northern New York Community Foundation.
Purses and items for the purses were donated by the following: A.J. Missert; An Eclectic Boutique; Antique Boat Museum; Arsenal Wines & Liquors ; Body Slender Laser Center; Cabana Bay Tanning; Candlewood Suites Evans Mills; Celebrations; Clayton Opera House; Clayton Wine & Spirits; Comfort Inn & Suites ; Confluence Running; Coyote Moon Vineyards ; Craft836 Canteen; Detail This; Eagle Beverage Company; Edible Arrangements; Everson Museum of Art; Fairfield Inn & Suites; Five Corners Greenhouse; Garland City Beer Works; Hall Pass Tavern; Harmony Soap Cottage; Hilda’s the Next Generation ; Holiday Inn Express & Suites; Hopenhagen Farm; Independent Medical Evaluation Company; Intrepid Broadcasting/Tunes 92.5; Jen’s Backroad Blooms; Jumpin’ Goat Drive Thru; Kay Jewelers; Mac’s Hair Extrodinaire; Mary Kay – Consultant Kerrie Baker; Massage for Vets; Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology; Northern Flow Vineyards; Old McDonald’s Farm; Olive Garden; O’Reilly Auto Parts; Perrywinkle’s; Planned Parenthood of the North Country; Plaza Beauty & Tanning Salons; River Golf Adventures; River Yoga; Riveredge Resort; Rosamond Gifford Zoo; Roswell P. Flower Memorial Library; Rust Check of Watertown, Inc.; Samaritan Medical Center ; Samaritan Medical Center Foundation; Silver Bench Jewelry; State Street Ace Hardware; Stefano’s Pizzeria & Restaurant; Sweet on Chocolate; The Bloom Bar; The Church Street Diner; The Clipper Inn; The Evergreen Day Spa; The Fringe Hair Studio and Day Spa; The LightHouse in Theresa; The Quilt Shop; The Silver Cauldron; The Whimsical Pig; The Whiskey Coop; Thousand Islands Winery; Tinsle Beauty; Tug Hill Artisan Roasters; Tug Hill Estate; Uncle Sam Boat Tours; Vigilante Yoga; Watertown Daily Times/NNY360; Watertown Family YMCA; Willowbrook Golf Club; Zoo New York; Donna Barnhart; Barb DeYear; Jeanne Fuller; Dawn Lelakowski; Nadine Logan; Amy McEathron; Laurie Marr; Joelle Meade; Kathryn Murray; Lorna Oppedisano; Jeremiah Papineau; Sam Purington; Darcy Peterson; Suzie Renzi-Falge; Bruce Reynolds; Meagan Reynolds; Anne Rohr; Kathy Taber-Montgomery; Caree Turck and Luanne Wilson.
The VTC Foundation would like to thank WWNY’s Beth Hall for emceeing the event. In addition, the organization thanks Garland City Beer Works for hosting, The Bottle of Sackets Harbor for donation of wine for a wine pull at the event and Snapshots Photo Booth for the donation of a photo to use at the event. In addition, the VTC Foundation thanks the Posh Purse Palooza Committee, consisting of Blaine Campany, Jeany Colello, Laurie Gleason, Amy McEathron, Joelle Meade, Kathryn Murray, Lorna Oppedisano, Makenzie Piatt, and Mr. Papineau.
The date for next year’s Posh Purse Palooza is already set for Thursday, May 6, again before Mother’s Day. Donations are already being collected for the event. For more information, contact Mr. Papineau at 315-303-2590, or via email at jeremiah@volunteertransportation.org.
ABOUT THE VOLUNTEER TRANSPORTATION CENTER
The Volunteer Transportation Center, Inc. (VTC), established in 1991, drives thousands of miles each year assisting community members in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence Counties and beyond. Over the last 30 years, this essential non-profit organization has provided rides to health care appointments, food sources and other critical needs destinations for residents.
In 2025, volunteer drivers provided 25,533 charitable trips over 783,845 miles in Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence Counties. Of those miles, 294,999 helped those in Jefferson County, 80,033 in Lewis County, and 408,813 in St. Lawrence County. That equated to approximately $391,923 in mileage reimbursement for our volunteers. That’s why the community’s help is so important.
The staff, boards of directors and volunteer drivers look forward to a time when transportation to community activities and services is accessible to all North Country residents regardless of economic or specialized needs. But for now the mission drives on — striving to provide transportation to health, wellness and critical needs destinations utilizing volunteers and mobility management for anyone who has barriers to transportation.
For more information about how you can help the Volunteer Transportation Center, about its upcoming events, or to become a volunteer driver, contact the agency in Jefferson and Lewis Counties at 315-788-0422, in St. Lawrence County at 315-714-2034, or Western New York at 585-250-5030. Volunteers drive their own cars, set their own hours and receive mileage reimbursement but, more importantly, make a difference in the community. To learn more, visit www.volunteertransportationcenter.org.