St. James Ministries to Host the 13th Annual Truly Priceless Garage Sale on Sep 9th
The 13th Annual Truly Priceless Garage Sale is scheduled for Saturday, September 9th, 2017, from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., at 303 N. Hickory Ave. in Arlington Heights, only a short distance from Recreation Park. At this event, unpriced goods donated by many generous people will be available to anyone for the donation that their heart prompts them to give to any of our five life-saving charities. This event is co-sponsored by the St. James Conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the St. James Respect Life Ministry.
The idea for a Truly Priceless Garage Sale came to us twelve years ago when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. Many people there lost all their possessions. In stark contrast, in our neighborhood, we could see many very usable items left out on the curb for garbage collection. This inspired us to raise money for the victims of the hurricane by selling items at a garage sale. Because the task of pricing items at a garage sale is a huge chore and extremely arbitrary, we decided to let shoppers make a donation to either Catholic Relief Services or the American Red Cross which were both heavily involved with the relief efforts in New Orleans.
Over time, the charities supported by the garage sale have changed and expanded. The current list of charities includes Catholic Charities and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, who provide assistance for those experiencing serious financial hardship, and the Women's Center, the Pro-Life Action League, and the Center for Hope and Healing, all of whom help women in unplanned pregnancies. This has been very successful - almost $25,000 has been earned for the charities supported, and, in the process, many people have been helped.
There have been many funny and wonderful stories over the years of people procuring just the right sink, perfect stationary, wedding and designer clothing, carpentry tools, etc. In addition, the stories of the varied donors have been as interesting as those of the shoppers. Many people have been relieved to have cleaned out their own houses, especially the elderly. Local stores have donated goods. Sometimes, shoppers have returned with items of their own to donate, and some have even stayed to help with the sale.
Please help support our 13th Annual Truly Priceless Garage Sale: volunteer, donate goods, and/or shop. Donations of goods will be accepted beginning Monday, September 4th. For additional information, contact Marybeth or Mike Schoenwald at (847) 392-5506 or mschoney@wowway.com.