Sat, May 1 2010 - Mustard Seed MEGA HUGE Charity Garage Sale Day 1 (View Original Event Details)
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The latest version of the COC Mustard Seed Mega Huge Garage sale was nicely planted on May 1 & 2, right between 2 late season snow storms! It was an all out blizzard on Thursday but by Friday the clouds parted and the sun shone brightly for the eager set up team.
The setup team took a much deserved indoor break when the police ushered us to safety while they dealt with an alleged armed tenant dispute 2 doors down. For awhile we all had ringside seats to a real life version of COPS. Thankfully it all ended peacefully, except for the rigorous barking of the police dogs! We finished setting up for what would eventually be the most successful MEGA HUGE Mustard Seed Garage sale to date!
We had numerous first-time COC’ers and plenty of garage sale veterans. It was a great team effort and so many items went to new homes. As I said to one customer, “we create a perfect circle – we divert useful items from going to landfill, we help people find great bargains and the homeless benefit”.
The Saturday team managed to dodge the “variable showers”. They were so busy setting the “one-day cash record” that everyone forgot to take photos. The Sunday team was hit by a 2 minute downpour that did nothing to dampen spirits ... or sales. We got the music going in the CD dept. and interest skyrocketed. Suddenly there were great gems in the bins. There were even a few bidding wars for some of those nuggets! The music added to the festive atmosphere and even drew in Provincial Liberal Leader David Swan for a few purchases. It’s our one big “take away” for the next sale ... MORE festivity! Someone suggested buskers.
There is an unexplainable beauty to the Mustard Seed sale. The volunteer team has commented that “it’s great to interact with people who genuinely support our efforts – I’m shocked when many people give more than our suggested ranges”. The difficult part are the few who want to “nickel and dime” but we don’t spend much time on those and they simply make for good tales at the end of the day.
The weekend went so smoothly that Jim's biggest problem was finding a new roll of toilet paper upside down in his bathroom. You'll have to figure out for yourself if he's an "over the top" or "under the bottom" type of guy!
Special thanks to all COC Volunteers and non-COC volunteer Marilyn, who not only gives her time, energy and great chili to the event, but also gives up her front yard for the sale. It’s so wonderful for so many people to give so much of their time and energy for this special event.
Other notable appreciation goes to Second Cup, Sunridge Corner, for a donation of a commercial espresso machine ... for which we received $400! Thanks as well to Coco Brooks, 32nd Ave NE, for the awesome pizzas donated for Friday set up and leftovers for Saturday.
So many people ask us why we do this. Most notably, they ask about Jim – he who devotes so much of his time to these joint causes of helping the environment and helping others. But the answer is very simple - we do this for selfish reasons ... we do it because it truly makes us feel good. What an absolutely amazing weekend!
Saturday $6,311, Sunday $3,756, Pre / Post Sale $738. Grand Total $10,805.82
Thanks Jim.
See everyone in September! . . . . .Lori S