Shoppers check out the merchandise at the 2025 Wayside House Spring Boutique and Trunk Show. Photo provided by Wayside House
By Lou Ann Frala
How can a shopping spree be good for someone else? When the spree is to benefit Wayside House, a nonprofit organization based in Delray Beach that focuses on women’s substance abuse and addiction recovery.
The annual fundraiser, the Spring Boutique and Trunk Show, a fixture for more than three decades, begins Feb. 10, with a preview party for shoppers to check out the 21 vendors — nine new this year — from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Aloft Hotel in Delray Beach.
The boutique runs Feb. 11 and 12 starting at 10 a.m. each day.
Vendors, drawn from all over the country and one from Germany, showing clothing, jewelry, accessories and home decor, are: Amanda Johnson Studio, Blair’s Belts, Blazers by Design, Brad and Vandy Reh Fine Jewelry, Carrie Dunham, Carson & Co., Charlotte Brody, CMM Designs-Status Faux, Daniella Ortiz Handbags, Harbor Sweets, Hyde Forty-Seven, IslaPayal, IVI Vision, Janet Gregg, Jennifer Tyler Knitwear, KP Design, Liz Paper, Liza Byrd Boutique, Pearly Vine, The Romantic Room, and Vernon Scott.
Last year’s event drew more than 700 shoppers and raised $180,000 for the organization founded in 1974 by Dr. Susan B. Anthony — the great-niece and namesake of the noted 19th century women’s rights advocate — and Phyllis Michelfelder of Gulf Stream. Anthony died in Boca Raton in 1991, Michelfelder in 1998.
Wayside’s mission since its founding has been to serve vulnerable women, including pregnant women in the throes of substance abuse or other chemical addictions.
The Spring Boutique is “our largest fundraiser of the year so it’s critical for our mission,” said event co-chairwoman Whitney Jones.
Jones and co-chairwoman Alexandra McCall are in their second year heading the event and are focused throughout the year on drawing vendors and building support for Wayside House.
As McCall says: “Wayside House’s 90-day residential program for women, including its scholarship offerings, helps bridge the gap between recovery programs and the women who would otherwise be unable to afford excellent care. Wayside offers hope, dignity and long-term support to women who may have lost their way but deserve the resources and compassion necessary to reclaim their lives.”
Women 18 and older can receive treatment to get back on their feet. Programs include life skills and employment assistance, with a placement rate higher than the national average, says Marlene Passell, Wayside’s director of communications.
Equine and horticulture holistic programs put the women in touch with both horses and the earth as they grow food that is used in the residential treatment center kitchen in Delray Beach.
If You Go
What: Spring Boutique and Trunk Show
When: Feb. 11 and Feb. 12, with a preview party for shoppers to check out the 21 vendors — nine new this year — from 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 10. The boutique runs Wednesday and Thursday starting at 10 a.m. each day.
Where: Aloft Hotel, 202 SE Fifth Ave., Delray Beach
Cost: Tickets for the preview party are $150 and include valet parking, early shopping, drinks and light bites. Register at waysidehouse.net/2026-spring-boutique.
More information: 561-278-0055
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