Longtime antiques collectors and novices alike will have the opportunity to contemplate vintage furniture, jewelry, silver, and porcelain — each piece with a story of its own — at the 30th annual Thomasville Antiques Show this February. What many don’t know, however, is that their attendance actually makes a difference in the lives of area children.

The Thomasville Antiques Show Foundation’s (TASF) mission is to raise funds for non-profit organizations focused on children’s programs in Thomasville, Thomas County and the surrounding areas. Only second to that mission is the goal to provide the community access to design leaders in an intimate setting and to shop with purveyors of the country’s finest collections of art and antiques, agreed Laura Reich and Elizabeth Street, co-chairs of this year’s show.

Just last year, the show brought in and gave away some $140,000. The funds were parceled out to more than 25 local organizations, including the following recipients:

• An Open Door Adoption Agency received funds to support its ministry, the Suitcase Movement, whose purpose is to seek adoptive families for children in the Georgia foster care system and to raise public awareness for waiting children in Georgia.

• The Family Enrichment Group received a gift to provide advocacy and services for abused and neglected children.

• TASF’s gift to Hands & Hearts for Horses is using its TASF grant to support its therapy program and summer camp.

• The Boys & Girls Club accepted funds to integrate STEM learning into its core programming.

• The Thomasville-Thomas County Humane Society received a gift from TASF to support educational programming on animal welfare.

Five specific organizations — the Thomasville History Museum, Thomasville Center for the Arts, Thomasville Landmarks, the Thomasville YMCA and the Thomasville Public Library — have received grants every year since the show’s inception in 1990. In addition, TASF has given scholarship funds each year to city, county and Brookwood schools.

Thomasville History Center

Originally the Thomas County Historical Society, the Thomasville History Center has used its TASF funds for summer camps, student admissions and student and family programming, said Anne McCudden, executive director of the History Center. “Our summer camps cater to third to sixth graders with content that covers the mid-nineteenth century to the Victorian period,” she said. Over the years, the Museum has hosted more than 600 youth at camp.

TASF funds also have allowed Thomas County students and their teachers free admission to the Museum and the historic Lapham Patterson House. 

“Students and their families can come to our campus and engage in experiential, historically focused programs that allow participants to … interact with a person, event or activity from the past,” McCudden said.

“Without funding from the Thomasville Antiques Show Foundation, the Thomasville History Center would not be able to conduct some of our more vital and mission-focused activities,” she said. “We have been able to become a vital companion piece to the educational system and meet our institutional goals at the same time.”

Thomasville Center for the Arts

The Thomasville Antique Show Foundation has been a consistent and generous supporter of the Center for the Art’s “Arts for All Children” umbrella of youth programs, said Jenny Dell, development director at the Thomasville Center for the Arts.

“In the last few years, funding from the Foundation has specifically helped to enhance our ArtReach and Art with Schools initiatives,” she said. 

Each academic year, a series of live theater shows serve as field-trip opportunities for area schools in grades Pre-K through 12; Foundation support allows the Center to provide high-quality professional performances at less than $2 per student.

In addition, she said, several of the performers enter the schools as visiting artists to lead workshops following their show, expanding children’s art exploration and education in a more intimate and hands-on environment. “Annual school exhibits also provide a link between the Center and students from Thomasville City, Thomas County, Thomasville Christian and Brookwood schools,” Dell said.

Michele Arwood, executive director of the Center for the Arts, said it was quite an honor to be selected as one of TASF’s charities of choice year after year. 

“In the last decade alone, we have exceeded the incredible milestone of over $100,000 in funding support from the Foundation — support which has touched the lives of tens of thousands of children, assisted in enhancing our facilities and breathed new life into our organization,” she said.

Thomasville YMCA

YMCA’s summer camp is the primary program supported by TASF over the years. 

“When children are not in school, it is important they have fun, safe environments to learn, grow and thrive,” said Tom Everett, CEO of the Thomasville Y.

“The YMCA offers a wide variety of summer camps for this very reason,” he said. 

Y camps range from traditional outdoor camping experiences at Camp Piney Woods, to Rose City Day Camp, to sports camps. TASF funding specifically allows underprivileged children an opportunity to attend camp, Everett said, “where they discover skills, build friendships and find a place to belong.”

TASF’s support of the YMCA over the years has impacted hundreds of local children, he said. In 2018 alone, the YMCA provided over $11,000 in summer camp scholarships to deserving kids. 

“These young people would not have been afforded summer camp opportunities were it not for TASF,” Everett said.

Thomasville Landmarks

Thomasville Landmarks provides educational programs that teach hundreds of students the value of Thomasville’s architectural, natural and cultural heritage, said Mary Lawrence Lang, director of the organization.

Programs include interactive presentations on the history and architecture of Thomasville; walking tours of local and national register historic districts; cemetery studies and presentations; and presentations on the architectural styles of Georgia, amongst others. In addition, a program called Box City allows students to design and build their own individual structures and plan out their own cities.

“Thanks to the generous support of the Thomasville Antiques Show Foundation, for the last 30 years, we have been able to reach children both in the classroom and in the field at no charge to educators or parents,” Lang said. “For many of these students, this education is their first introduction to historic preservation, community planning and urban design.”

Thomas County Public Library

Along with its collection of books, periodicals, audio books, DVDs and video cassettes, the Thomas County Library System — headquartered in downtown Thomasville — offers numerous electronic resources through its website and subscription databases. Also available for teenagers and children are a variety of free programs, including local author visits, theatre performances and technology classes.

Nancy Tillinghast, former director of the Thomas County Public Libraries, said the Thomasville Antiques Show Foundation’s donations over the years have included funds for a Lego wall in the story room, oversized books for story time and manipulatives for small children. Thanks to TASF, Children have had access to books of all types — nonfiction, biographies and Caldecott and Newberry award winners, she said.

“With the grants for TASF, we’re able to expand not only the physical aspects of books and educational toys, but we’re (also) able to offer children positive interactions with each other and the staff through story times, Lego activities and the various ‘tables’ of manipulatives,” she said.

TASF today

Every year, some 30 top-notch antique sellers travel to Thomasville from all over the country. A show manager is in charge of finding these dealers and organizing their booths and rental fees.

In addition, nationally known speakers have become a key part of the success of the show. Past speakers have included Bill Stahl, vice chairman at Sotheby’s; Gil Schafer, architect; William Secord, a pre-eminent sporting art dealer; and India Hicks, Carolyne Roehm, Miles Redd, Tom Scheerer, Bunny Williams and Nina Campbell, all celebrated interior designers.

Set to speak this year are interior designer and industry icon Charlotte Moss, architect and designer Ray Booth and event designer DeJuan Stroud. In addition, architect C. Brandon Ingram and designer Mallory Mathison will team up to discuss their collaborative work on properties with multi-generational appeal.

The show will be held Feb. 22-24 at the Deep South Fairgrounds. For more information, visit www.thomasvilleantiquesshow.com.