DEBORAH CORRAO / L’Observateur / September 19, 1999

“It’s all priced to sell,” says Sue Arceneaux, president of La Busy Bees, a civic organization in LaPlace. “If we can get a quarter for something, it’sa quarter more than we had before.”La Busy Bees, established in 1971, is holding a garage sale Oct. 8 and 9 tofill up its empty coffers. The group works tirelessly throughout the yearto fill the needs of those less fortunate in the community. La Busy Beeshas never asked for cash donations for their work.

The garage sale promises to be big. Members of La Busy Bees get togetherevery Wednesday morning to sort, clean, and price items for sale.

“Everything has been washed, starched and ironed,” says Arceneaux. “Iwashed three loads this morning. My iron isn’t heating up very fastanymore. I think it’s just tired.”Arceneaux has also been cross stitching decorative hand towels. Othershave been sewing holiday aprons, ornaments and other craft items.

“How much do you think we can get for these?” Arceneaux asks the workers, holding up sets of matching seasonal potholders and dishtowels.

Some sets are for Halloween, others for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

For three years now, the organization has sewed and stuffed pillows and teddy bears for distribution to children and older people taken to the River Parishes Medical Center’s emergency room.

“It really helps the children,” says Priscilla Scallon, past president.

“They really grab for them. I took 70 pillows to the hospital in May.”During the year, the group gets together for workshops and cuts out the fabric pillows. Each member takes some home to sew and stuff. Theydeliver about 150 pillows to the hospital each year.

Besides the ongoing pillow project, La Busy Bees adopts one or two families a year to help during the holidays, providing Christmas and Easter baskets and even gift certificates. The group has also made donations inthe past to the St. John Ministry of Care, the Children’s Home in NewOrleans and to a mission project of the Church of Christ in LaPlace.

Another project involved providing birthday cakes each month for the residents of Place duBourg, and the group bought walkie-talkies for the volunteer fire department. Members also make wheelchair pouches to giveto nursing home residents who must rely on wheelchairs and walkers to get around.

“All the money we raise is given back to the community,” says Arceneaux.

“We don’t keep anything for ourselves.”La Busy Bees is limited to 22 members because meetings are held in private homes. The membership has remained pretty steady throughout theyears, mostly coming from recommendations of other members.

In previous years La Busy Bees raised funds for projects by publishing and selling cookbooks and holding garage sales and bake sales.

The ladies will be spending their mornings once a week unpacking, sorting, labeling and marking until the sale.

“My husband says if I can get rid of everything in this garage in a day, he’ll give us $700,” says Arceneaux. “I think I’ll take him up on it.”So far, the group has collected many baby and children’s items in a variety of sizes, including a variety of jackets and warm winter clothing.

Items not sold during the two-day event will be donated to the St. Joan ofArc Thrift Shop and a group that does mission work in Mexico.

The sale will be held 8 a.m. to noon on Friday, Oct. 8, and Saturday, Oct. 9,at 504 Chatsworth Drive in LaPlace – rain or shine.

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