Kiwanis Clubbers seeking treasure hunters one garage sale at a time.
Vicki Baker
It’s an American classic – the ever-popular garage sale. Sharing your household excess with others while making a pocketful of change is a tradition that’s been around for as long as people have been collecting clutter.
As spring arrives at Robson Ranch, there’s no better way to start fresh than by cleaning out the old to make room for the new. One of the most popular methods of getting rid of unused or forgotten items is at the Afterschoolers’ sponsored Spring Community Garage Sale. For the Kiwanis Club, it was the little extra motivation needed to clear out the clutter from our homes, donate the items, set up a “rented” spot in the Clubhouse parking lot and sell, sell, sell. It was a great way to get rid of unused items, participate in a one-stop garage sale and raise money for the club’s many causes.
Everyone has some old items lying around the house collecting dust. So, the word went out to all Kiwanians to hunt for items tucked away in their attics, storage spaces or garages that they don’t need any longer. Sometimes they’re hanging onto things for sentimental reasons, but oftentimes the items were too nice to just throw away yet aren’t worth enough to sell individually. Chances were Jane had a treadmill she used to hang clothes instead of its intended use of working out, and now that his grandkids were teenagers, John probably had some old toys that were taking up valuable storage space.
With the merchandise in hand, 19 Kiwanian volunteers cleaned, dusted and priced each item. Over the next several hours, sales were brisk with bargain hunters doling out cold, hard cash for their found treasures. As the day wound down, there was still some stuff left over. So to boost sales of these remaining items, a kitchen trash bag was sold for $5 – fill the bag up with anything still available, regardless of price. Kiwanis hit the jackpot. Bags were sold and filled, making even more money for the club’s charities. The few things unsold were then donated to Twice as Nice Resale of Denton, a non-profit organization providing the community with resale items at a low cost with proceeds benefiting a pregnancy resource center.
So the next time spring is sprung, some people see flowers and sunny days, but the Kiwanis Club? The sign of spring is the community garage sale and another great opportunity to raise funds for the many service and community outreach organizations it supports. If you’re interested in finding yourself a bargain, join the Kiwanis Club and make the deal of a lifetime by serving your community. For more information, contact Ed Kerr at [email protected].