We had a tight timeline and a simple goal: raise enough money for new shelves in the basement. We pulled it off. By the end of the sale we had raised over $700, which covers the shelves with room to spare.
The work started well before the doors opened. Getting ready meant going through the basement item by item, identifying and marking what belonged to the Rebekahs and separating it from Odd Fellows’ stuff. We also threw out several huge bags of garbage. The result is something the lodge hasn’t seen in years: the basement floor.
There was a point when the sale was in danger of being cancelled altogether. It was saved by members who stepped up and put in the work, and in the end it went well. A good variety of items and a beautiful presentation made us attractive to shoppers. Passersby peeked through the windows and then chose to come in. We never ran short on goods, so there was always something to browse.
Just as valuable was the time spent talking with people. We answered questions about the lodge, met neighbors who had never been inside, and attracted a couple of potential members along the way.
None of this happens without the people who showed up. A huge thank you goes to Ria Toolis, without whom this garage sale wouldn’t have been possible. Thank you to Katy Dickinson, Victor Gonsalves, Debra LaVergne and Jesse Donaldson for your generous donations and for volunteering. Thank you to Mason Wolf, Alex Amoroso and Sinéad Toolis for volunteering. Thank you to Sally Calpo for pricing the games and drawing the beautiful posters. And thank you to Sunday Donaldson for helping with the planning.
We were asked again and again whether we do garage sales regularly, so the interest in the community is clearly there. If we collect enough items, another sale next year could be a decent way to fundraise for the things that fall out of budget when expensive repairs like the elevator and the stove eat it up.
One more thing worth noting: the skull panel hanging on the wall drew steady attention all weekend. Several people asked about it. It may be worth looking into merchandise with that design.
— By Tatiana Kuvaldina
