ANCHORAGE, Alaska—
Fuji Gifts, an import store in Chugiak, is holding an estate sale this weekend, raising money for Alaska's wounded veterans. Art Wallace opened the store in the early 1960's and when he passed away in 2010, his will asked that his estate value be donated to help wounded veterans.
Customers arrived at the shop off the Old Glenn Highway early Saturday morning-- some as early as 6:30a.m. Only 20 people at a time were allowed in the store. Many of the items inside have been there for decades. Some were found new in box, says Donna Heneger, with Alaska Auction Queens. She has spent weeks organizing the store and sorting through the thousands of items that Wallace purchased over the years.
"i'd come here for years, ever since I moved here, someone introduced me to it. And then it had been closed off and on, so every time it was open we'd all get excited, we would come down to see what might've been dredged up," said customer Susan Weston.
Organizers say so far, they've raised more than $10,000 in the estate sale. All of the money will go to Alaska Healing Hearts, an organization that supports various veterans programs across the state.
"What their family has done is commendable and we greatly appreciate it. From all veterans and the folks we're trying to reach out and touch. It means the world to us," said Dan McDowell, the founder of Alaska Healing Hearts.
The estate sale continues Sunday from 9a.m. to 3p.m. Valuable items found in the store will be auctioned off on July 21st at the Egan Center.
