By Maria Holloway
BETHEL – May was a month of celebration for the REPANT! Elves, who reached the 1,000 mark in tote bag creations, representing more than $23,000 in proceeds donated to the Bethel Area District Exchange and Food Pantry. Area businesses Grace Note Inn and GEM Theater hosted gatherings for the elves in recognition for their accomplishment and gift to the community.
More than 20 area volunteers make up the REPANT! Elves, who gather twice weekly at the Museums of the Bethel Historical Society which has offered them a second floor room for their sewing machines and supplies. To reduce the amount of discarded clothing that enters the waste stream, the REPANT! elves design and sell creative, whimsical tote bags from recycled clothing in an effort to serve the Bethel area community. Donated pants, T-shirts and fabric scraps are used for the reusable totes. REPANT! Is in its third year of production.
REPANT! donates 100% of the proceeds from the totes to the Bethel Area District Exchange, a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization staffed fully by volunteers that supports the School Backpack Program, the Smile Fund (assistance for denture expenses) and the Bethel Area Food Pantry.
REPANT! will sell its totes at upcoming area markets, including the BAAM (Bethel Area Arts and Music) Art Fairs on Saturday, July 2, and Saturday, Aug. 6, at Philbrook Place on Main Street as well as at the Monarch Festival on Sunday, Aug. 14, at Valentine Farm on North Road. They can also be found at locations throughout Bethel, including the GEM Theater, Barking Dawg Market, Riverview Resort, True North Adventurewareband at the Gemini Café, which will be opening soon on Main Street.
Donations payable to the Bethel Area District Exchange may be mailed to PO Box 232, Bethel, ME 04237. Follow REPANT! on Facebook at Repant-Totes-Bethel-Maine.
PHOTOS: REPANT! celebrates its 1,000th tote bag at the GEM Theater. From left, Linda McDonough, Beth Allen, Robin Zinchuk, Sue Lowe, Maria Holloway and Paul Weisberger. (above) Machines hum in the REPANT! elves’ sewing room. From left, Robin Zinchuk, Anita Clark, Diane McMahon and Karen Brown-Mohr (below). (Submitted photos)
