Building for the future starts small sometimes.

At least that’s the case with the Women’s Resource Center.

Today it’s a small construction project where businesses and artists enhance USA-made Adirondack chairs for auction.

Tomorrow, the WRC dream is building transitional housing.

Chair-ity was an intriguing fundraiser hosted in WRC past board president Cindy Whitlock’s hometown. She thought the idea of a such an auction would work well for the Women’s Resource Center’s annual Girls Night Out event. So the fundraising committee of the WRC changed the name slightly to be all inclusive, and changed the old auction of created packages and baskets into the chair auction.

And the Night Out and Chair-ity Auction was born.

The committee hasn’t changed many of the other popular portions of the evening, scheduled this year for 6 p.m. Aug. 26 at Daniel Vineyards in Crab Orchard. Tickets include dinner and one glass of Daniel wine per person and/or soft drinks, entertainment by Lady D and a paddle for auction bidding.

Individual tickets are $25 per person, but decrease in price as the number ordered increases. The best deal is a WRC Friend sponsor for $150, which includes six tickets and a bottle of wine. Four tickets are $75.

“We still welcome guests to the scenic and tranquil Daniel Vineyards. We still offer a tasty meal, this year by Outback, complemented by Daniel’s award-winning wines, and we’ll still be entertained by local blues star Lady D,” Whitlock said.

To test the potential for the chair-ity auction, the WRC invested in 20 USA-made Adirondack chairs from a small, family-owned business in western New York.

“Their website said, ‘If you can’t reach us, leave a message because we’re probably outside playing with our toddlers in the garden,’” Whitlock said.

The chairs are handmade, arrived mostly assembled and were sold to business sponsors.

“People support the WRC and were excited to be involved in something different on the fundraising front.

“It’s a useful piece of furniture, well made and uniquely enhanced,” she said. “We’re anxious to see what designs the businesses and their artistic friends can create.”

The WRC made no money from the sale of the chairs to the businesses, but the committee hopes the auction of the chairs garners great interest and brings high bids.

The minimum bid will be $100 because that’s the value of the plain chair before shipping. Professional auctioneer Mary Staples will be in charge of the auction portion and local media celebrities will be the emcees.

In organizing future strategies for the WRC, the group realized a great need for transitional housing, so a short-term goal is to start building a fund to buy, rent, lease a building or land to build transitional housing for victims of domestic violence and their families.

“This event and other fundraisers planned will start our transitional housing campaign, which may take a few years,” Whitlock said.

Chair sponsors include the New River Convention & Visitors Bureau, WOAY-TV, Mountain State University, Glow Tanning, Aspen, Treehouse Arts Ensemble, Robert Moore III, sponsored by Kelly & Rodney Elkins, Southern West Virginia Convention and Visitors Bureau, Chris Boyd, Central Printing, West Virginia Miners, Daddy Rabbit, United Way of Southern West Virginia, Crossroads Mall, Michelle Cox, M*Raders, Beaver Land for the WRC, Laura Comer, Daniel Vineyards, Barbara Daniel, BB&T, Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce, BodyWorks, Lillian James, Tammy Mullens, Historic Fayetteville CVB, ACE Adventure Resort and Crosier’s Sanitary.

Title sponsors include Beckley Newspapers, WOAY-TV, Southern Communications, Daniel Vineyards, BB&T, Mountain State University and Wendy’s.

Event tickets, and/or title, event and friend level sponsorships are available by calling 304-640-2295 or e-mailing wrcchair_ity@yahoo.com.