Phyllis McKinney, bazaar chairman, noted that local residents clamor for this special lunch every year. “It’s delicious and only costs $3.50,” McKinney said.

Desserts may be added for only $1.50. Other items offered include pimento cheese sandwiches for $2, vegetarian “chicken” salad sandwiches for $2.50, and various drinks for 75-cents to $1. Take-out meals will be available.

The sale will be held from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. in the Everett and Carolyn Coolidge Volunteer Conference Center.

Themed baskets also will be sold this year. “We’ll have a wide assortment of special baskets, including tea baskets, tailgate baskets, movie-lover baskets and chocolate-lover baskets, to name just a few,” Lindy Riley, director of the volunteers, said.

The bazaar also will feature seasonal wreaths, holiday décor items, baked goods, gently used “treasures” and homemade salsas, she said.

Proceeds will be used to redecorate the Volunteer Conference Center and other hospital projects.

“Since 1976, the Takoma volunteers have given nearly $600,000 to the hospital,” Riley noted. “These funds have come from events such as this one – bake sales, bazaars, specialty sales and gift shop proceeds. They really add up!”

The volunteers also have donated their time, giving more than 340,000 hours to Takoma. The “Independent Sector,” a website for a national coalition that works to strengthen nonprofit organizations in America, calculates that volunteer time in Tennessee is worth $20.25 per hour – or nearly $7 million worth of time from the Takoma volunteers.

“No one should underestimate the value of volunteers or how quickly these special events can add up profits,” Riley said.

For more information, please contact Riley at 798-8136.