Charity’s second ornament sale proving more difficult

One of the bigger fundraising events for Hospice Northwest isn’t expected to raise as much money this year, says a spokesperson for the organization.

Hospice Northwest started its second annual Wings of Remembrance ornament fundraiser on Nov. 16 in support of its palliative care programming and services. Sales of the ornament haven’t gone as well as last year with only 140 sold as of Tuesday afternoon.

Kathleen Buso, communication director with Hospice Northwest, said they had sold 100 more ornamentsat this time in 2009 and expected the remaining 500 holiday ornaments wouldn’t sell out by the time the office closed on Dec. 21.

"Our sales are slow but steady and we wish that they would pick up a little bit," Buso said. "We have about 600 that we ordered and we sold them out last year. I don’t think we will sell out this year."

The ornament sales raised about $9,000 last year.

Buso said she remained hopeful that they could reach the same amount again but would be happy if they could raise at least $6,000.

She added they were about half way in reaching that targetted goal.

Hospice Northwest didn’t advertise with local media as much this year and instead relied heavily on word-of-mouth to spread the message to residents, which could have contributed to the weak sales, she admitted.

Any unsold ornaments will either get added to next year’s stockpile or will remain for sale throughout the year, she said.

"The Christmas season is the main time that we sell them but we will have them available for people throughout the year," she said. "People like to give them out as gifts beyond the Christmas season."

The ornament can be purchased at the Hospice Northwest office on Carrie Street for $25.