3…2…1…Shop!

VCS spree winner donates supplies, cash to local schools, shelter

Andrew D. Brosig
Posted 3/21/18

With orange caution flags flying and other shoppers dodging out of the way, Lindsey Liggett decimated the shelves at Main Street Market.

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3…2…1…Shop!

VCS spree winner donates supplies, cash to local schools, shelter

Posted

TORRINGTON – With orange caution flags flying and other shoppers dodging out of the way, Lindsey Liggett decimated the shelves at Main Street Market.

Liggett, of Torrington, was the winner of the shopping spree donated by the store during the annual Valley Christian School Soup Supper at the Goshen County Rendezvous Center on Feb. 3. On Saturday, she cashed in her ticket for the chance to grab as many groceries as she could, to a maximum value of $750, in three minutes. But rather than stock up on staples for her family, Liggett opted to give back to sometimes-underserved agencies in the community.

“I’m going to donate it all back,” she said as she waited for zero hour and the start of her shopping spree. “I hope I can get enough snacks for (students at) Valley Christian School, maybe some for Lincoln Elementary. If I can get to the dog food in time, I’m also going to donate to Waggin’ Tails” animal shelter.

Terry Leet, Main Streetgeneral manager, said he thought Saturday was about the seventh time Main Street Market has donated shopping sprees as a fundraising vehicle for local groups and organizations. In addition to Valley Christian School, the store has provided shopping sprees to local service clubs, such as the Rotary Club, and other groups, he said.

“We’ve never had anyone hit the $750 limit yet,” Leets said. “We’ve had them come close.”

Liggett said she was nervous as she waited for the count-down to start shopping. At about 1 p.m., an announcement was made over the store’s loud speaker system, letting other shoppers know what was going on, while Liggett and Leet waited near the checkout lanes at the front of the store. Leet’s crew had prepared two special shopping carts, outfitted with tall, orange caution flags to let other shoppers know Ligget was headed their way while she shopped.

After asking the other patrons to step to the sides of the aisle for the duration of the event, the announcer counted down – “Three … two … one … GO!” – and Liggett was off and shopping, decked out in St. Patrick’s Day-themed green gear. She raked bottled drinks, cookies and other snacks into her cart by the arm full, quickly filling one before she dashed back to the front for a second cart to continue her shopping.

Her next stop was the pet food section, where she heaved bag after bag of pet food into the cart. Once her second cart was full, as the final seconds ticked away, Liggett dashed to the cleaning supplies, grabbing all the gallon bottles of bleach she could carry for the animal shelter.

As Leet and clerk Becky Zulauf tallied the total, Liggett watched from the sidelines as the proceeds of her shopping spree went over the checking stand. In total, she gathered almost $570 worth of supplies to donate, saying she had a very simple strategy going in.

“I just wanted to get as much as I could for the little kids and the animals as fast as I could,” Liggett said. “It was exhilarating, it was super fun.”