BOWEN Islanders are scouring their attics, basements and backyard sheds for potentially priceless antiques - but they're not planning on selling them on eBay.
Instead, islanders will be donating their finds to raise money to build Snug Cove House. The facility will offer accessible, affordable housing to seniors, many of whom must leave the island when they can no longer live alone.
Katherine Lawrence saw potential in islanders' enthusiasm for recycling. Lawrence is on the board of the Knick Knack Nook, a non-profit thrift shop located near Bowen Island's recycling centre. "You see little kids with their baskets of paper or bottles or cans or whatever, and often then they come over to the Knick Knack Nook, and people make donations of all kinds of things."
Sometimes those things are worth quite a lot of money. To keep the thrift store prices low, expensive items are kept out of the shop. Now the Knick Knack Nook's collection of antiques will be up for auction on Oct. 20 at the Bowen Island Legion Hall. For more information, visit www.snugcovehouse.com.