If someone were to have entered St. Anthony’s Parish in Buchanan Wednesday evening, they would have been greeted by a hushed Mass service taking place in the building’s upper floor. However, if they descended the stairs into the parish’s basement, they would have entered a whole different world, filled with shopping, snacks and drinks.

The Buchanan College Club hosted its first “shop ‘til you drop” fundraiser from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in the basement of St. Anthony’s Parish. For the event, the club invited different vendors, including locals like Twisted Lizard, Pampered Chef and LulaRoe, to set up booths in the basement of the church, who would then give a percentage of their earnings from the to the club. Snacks and refreshments were also made available in exchange for donations to the club.

“The idea of this was to make it one-stop shopping,” said Buchanan College Club Vice President Sarah Gault. “That’s why we called it ‘shop ‘til you drop.’ So, everyone can come get their Christmas presents or whatever they want.”

The Buchanan College Club was started in 1922 to support women furthering their education. Today, the club works to secure funds to provide students of any gender with interest-free loans. The club also offers some scholarships to merit students at an end of the year banquet.

“We are all about helping kids get to college and funding their way to college,” Gault said.

The shopping event seemed to the club a fun way to raise money for their cause, Gault said.

Though the club often fundraises, the “shop ‘til you drop” event is the first of its kind, which left the organizers without any idea how much money it would raise or what the turnout would be. However, many people turned out the church, which donated space for the event, something which pleased Gault.

“I think we are doing pretty well,” she said. “It’s great that people are showing up to support us and what we do.”

The vendors at the event were also pleased with the turnout, and several said they were happy to help out the Buchanan College Club, something they see as a worthy cause.

Alana Hollerbach sold LulaRoe clothing at the event. Though she said she didn’t know much about the college club before the fundraiser, once she learned more about the cause, she was excited to participate.

“I think it’s a great organization to support,” Hollerbach said. “It’s great to give back to the community. It helps the kids and my business, so I call it a win-win.”

Hollerbach was not alone in her thinking.

Owner of local business Twisted Lizard Ceramics Liz Dreitzler is friends with member of the Buchanan College Club. From the beginning, she has seen their cause as a worthy one.

“I just think what they are doing is great,” Dreitzler said. “And if people get to have fun shopping and I get some customers at the same time as supporting this, then that’s great, too.”