Decorators-Designers-Dealers Sale To Be Held June 1

The Southampton Fresh Air Home is hosting its 32nd annual Decorators-Designers-Dealers Sale and Auction Benefit Gala on Saturday, June 1.

The SFAH is a nonprofit center that provides services and programs for children and young adults with disabilities. The center offers multiple summer programs in either one- or three-week-long segments and also offers offseason programs in the winter.

The event is one of the biggest opportunities for the center to raise the necessary funds to continue to run its programs and improve programs and facilities. These funds also allow the camp to ensure that all children, no matter their families’ financial situation, can attend the programs.

Planning for the event every year begins at the conclusion of the Fresh Air Home’s summer programs in September when the camp starts accepting donations until mid-May. This includes furniture like couches, chairs, dressers and bedroom sets, as well as glassware and china sets. These donations are placed wherever there’s room at the facility as they come in during the fall and winter. Then in May, a team of board members, decorators, designers and volunteers gets together to organize the donated items into rooms with different themes. Themes include rooms with “traditional furniture” and Hamptons beach-style pieces according to Design and Decoration Chairwoman Ann Yawney.

In addition to the furniture and physical items available at the sale, there will also be gifts donated by local businesses, including vacation packages, gift certificates from restaurants like Sant Ambroeus and Dopo Argento, golf outings and women’s clothing and cosmetics items.

Though there’s a lot of furniture and items to process, the team is always up to the task of organizing everything to put in the sale and would rather have more items than less.

“We are so fortunate that people call us and give us amazing items, and we’ve got a great team of people who come and make it look amazing,” said Thomas Naro, the executive director of SFAH.

At the event, guests are treated to cocktails and hors d’oeuvres as they walk around the different furniture-stacked rooms and buildings at the facility. Guests will also have the opportunity to participate in live and silent auctions to win the gifts from local businesses and a wine auction as well.

Naro said that while they do not have a specific fundraising goal, the event typically raises 25 percent of their annual operating revenue, which is approximately $1.7 million. Last year, they raised $400,000 between donations, ticket sales, sponsorships and furniture sales.

The event is necessary to ensure that the center can continue to keep its doors open as a place where the children can be with their peers.

“This is a way that they get to socialize and get to meet people who are the same as them,” Yawney said. “And without people supporting the function, we wouldn’t be able to do all this.”

“And they’re finally with their own peers, which makes a big difference in their lives because they can relate to each other,” said Nannette Meyers, the design and decoration vice chairwoman.

One of the goals of this year’s event is to raise funds to expand SFAH’s new “Home Away From Home” program for children who have aged out of the summer programs but still need support as young adults. Run by a former camper, the program helps find employment and education opportunities for young adults, as well as teach them life skills like cooking or how to get on the Long Island Rail Road.

The event is also an opportunity for the center to promote who they are and raise awareness of the services they provide, as Yawney said that many local residents are unfamiliar with the center.

“You’d be surprised by how many people right here in Southampton don’t know what the Fresh Air Home is, so we’re trying to educate people too,” she said.

Since the event is held early in the summer, Naro described the event as an opportunity for people to reconnect with each other and make new connections all while supporting a great cause.

“It’s amazing seeing how excited everybody is to see each other, the connections that are made at the event with all the friendships and the support from the community for the organization in general,” Naro said. “Just seeing people coming out to support us and the generosity of people who give to us never ceases to amaze me.”

Putting the event together takes a lot of work and planning, but those involved say that it’s all worth it for the children they support.

“This is a lot of work, but when you see the smile on the camper’s face, it’s so worthwhile,” Meyers said.

Doors for the event at the Southampton Fresh Air Home, located at 36 Barkers Island Road, will open on Saturday, June 1, at 4 p.m. for benefactors and 5 p.m. for the general entry ticket holders. Admission prices start at $375 for benefactor entry and $250 for general entry. For more information, visit sfah.org/ddd.