Fabric sale in Wise to benefit MEOC Emergency Fuel Fund
BIG STONE GAP — A swath of the fabric of Southwest Virginia’s safety net will receive an unexpected thread of financial help from the Mary Bingman family.
A longtime citizen of Wise, Bingman was an artist and collector. Her fabric collection includes hundreds of yards of new and vintage cottons, wools, linens and more. A quilter and rug hooker, Bingman collected cottons and wools of nearly every color and texture, including many unique pieces that caught her artistic eye.
Bingman’s daughter, Beth Bingman, has offered to put the collection up for sale, with the benefits to be donated to Mountain Empire Older Citizens Inc.’s Emergency Fuel Fund for the Elderly.
The sale will take place at Zion Family Ministries, located near Kmart in Wise, on Feb. 10-11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day.
“This donation could not come at a better time,” said MEOC’s Emergency Services Program Director Margaret Sturgill. “Our funds at this time of year are running very low.”
The Emergency Fuel Fund assists people 60 years old or older with home heating emergencies during the winter months, beginning Oct. 1 through the end of March each year. To date, Sturgill said the program has assisted 858 older people in Wise, Lee and Scott counties and the city of Norton through the current season. All proceeds raised each year for the fund are used to assist with the purchase of heating oil, gas, wood, coal or to pay an electric heating bill.
The Bingman collection includes quilting, upholstery and curtain-making materials featuring many unique patterns. Bingman enjoyed tapestry and left a huge collection of wool thread used for rug making that will be available for sale as well.
“Mary was one of the very first people I met when I moved to Southwest Virginia some 40 years ago. I will always cherish her hospitality for I was literally a stranger, and she took me in,” said MEOC Executive Director Marilyn Pace Maxwell.
“Her support of MEOC over the following years was constant and could always be counted on. This is a wonderful collection, and we sincerely thank Beth for this donation in support of the Emergency Fuel Fund. We are counting on a large turnout for this one-of-a-kind event,” Maxwell said.
Maxwell also expressed her appreciation to Zion Family Ministries Pastor Wayne Hager for making the church available for the sale.
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