Sewing for Kids – Previous Rite Aid Employee Raises $10,000 for Valley Children’s

Rite Aid recently wrapped up their 2020 campaign through Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. In a span of a few weeks, 38 Rite Aid stores in the Central Valley raised $48,996 for Valley Children’s Hospital! Thank you Rite Aid stores!

Mary and Marvin Basler are key contributors to the Rite Aid store in Chowchilla, independently raising funds for the store’s CMN campaign.  Since 2012, Mary and Marvin have raised a grand total of $40,190 for the CMNH campaign. This year was their greatest gift yet of $10,500! We celebrated the Basler’s achievements at a socially distant gathering in September.

Mary worked at the Rite Aid in Chowchilla for 23 years until she eventually had to stop working, due to severe hand pain from rheumatoid arthritis. When she was an employee, Mary was a faithful fundraiser, asking each guest if they would like to donate during campaign times. Although Mary had to leave Rite Aid, fundraising was still in her heart. Year round Mary sews and sells a variety of items including kitchen aprons, pot holder sets, diaper bags, BBQ mittens, shoulder bags, school backpacks, teddy bear shirts, casserole dish carriers, and this year, you guessed it, – masks. Since COVID-19 began Mary has sold more than 2,000 masks. She said, “God gave me the gift, I might as well use it for a good cause.”

While Mary and Marvin purchase all the materials, every dollar of their sales go directly to Valley Children’s. Marvin has sold an enormous amount of Mary’s handcrafted items at his workplace, Central California Women’s Facility, in Chowchilla. The men and women who work at the prison are huge supporters of Mary’s work.

For the Baslers, donating to Valley Children’s is personal. When their granddaughter Susana, was in utero, medical professionals discovered cysts in her ovaries. Immediately after her birth Valley Children’s performed a surgery to drain the fluid from her cysts. They say if they had not discovered her condition so early, it would have impeded her ability to have children. Now 20, Susana aspires to one day become a medical technician.

Thank you Mary and Marvin for all of the time and funds you have donated to Valley Children’s! We are forever grateful and so are the kids and families who have benefited because of you.

If you are interested in any of Mary’s items please email her at mabasler@hotmail.com.