Even though the 2022 holiday season is long gone, fresh, festive memories remain of the growth and new experiences offered during the Junior League of Roanoke Valley’s Stocked Market 2022. 

“It was really exciting for it to all come to life, and I feel like it was definitely a success,” said Brittany Mitchell, Stocked Market co-chair.

The numbers proved JLRV’s annual shopping extravaganza and signature fundraiser was a success, raising $113,438.06 to support local initiatives that align with JLRV’s mission of uplifting and empowering the community. Stocked Market has raised more than $3.4 million in the past 34 years. 

“There are no words for how it feels to be able to give back that much,” said Brittany Bostic, Stocked Market co-chair. “I can’t give hundreds of thousands of dollars myself, but if I can be a part of something that does, it feels so great to know that my work, and my team’s work, and my Junior League’s work is able to make such an impact on the community from this one event.”

From the earliest planning stages for Stocked Market 2022, Bostic, Mitchell, and the Stocked Market committee had a vision for the event that included a focus on new merchants, new entertainment experiences for shoppers, a greater holiday aesthetic, and accessibility. 

“[Brittany Mitchell] came at the very beginning of the year with a mission for accessibility and I loved it,” Bostic said. “I thought that was such a good thing for us to work on. I had many people

compliment and talk about how they had space to move, and they liked having somewhere to sit.”

While yearly favorites including performances by the Southwest Virginia Ballet and visits with Santa returned, the event also provided enhanced entertainment experiences for shoppers, like S’mores with Santa. Shoppers also enjoyed more than 130 new and returning merchants. 

“We definitely had a wider range this year,” Bostic said when describing the variety of products and services merchants offered for Stocked Market 2022. 

Bostic and Mitchell agreed: teamwork and collaboration were key to Stocked Market 2022’s success.

“It definitely takes, not just our executive committee, but the whole League in its entirety to come in to pitch in to this event to make it a success,” Mitchell said. “I think that having a team, especially being able to listen to one another and all of our ideas, I think that collaboration is so key, especially to changing things up and thinking of new things.”

“Our committee was amazing,” Bostic said. “I’m so thankful for them doing this all year long, but also the amount of volunteers within the League who came and helped and some of them did many more shifts than necessary and that was helpful.” 

Bostic and Mitchell said they look forward to what the future holds for Stocked Market. “I think we’re going to continue to grow, continue to add more rows [of merchants], and it’s going to be really exciting,” Mitchell said. “I hope this momentum will continue on into next year.”

Stocked Market will return to the Berglund Center in Roanoke November 10-12, 2023, to celebrate 35 years of shopping and philanthropy. You can check for event updates throughout the year at stockedmarket.org.