Great American Yard Sale returns

For 20 years, the Great American Yard Sale has been helping the homeless in the Naperville area by collecting donated items and selling them to raise money for charity.

The tradition continues Saturday and Sunday as sale organizer Rudy Krueger returns with the tents to Westfield Fox Valley Mall. The sale runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days in the parking lot of the mall, Route 59 at New York Street in Aurora.

Proceeds from the Great American Yard Sale will go to DuPage PADS, Families Helping Families, DuPage County Department of Human Services, Senior Home Sharing, Hesed House in Aurora and Loaves and Fishes Community Pantry in Naperville.

Last week, people donated items to the sale. Volunteers have spent the week sorting, organizing and pricing items to ge ready for the sale. Alongside Krueger and his family, the sale has a real core of volunteers who have stuck with Krueger for 20 years, he said.

Organizers can use all the help they can get, as Krueger anticipates the sale will draw 20,000 to 30,000 people from all over state.

The sale has 600 tables packed with items as well as open ground covered with large items such as 300 bicycles, golf clubs, exercise equipment, lawn care items, bicycles, appliances and furniture. One couch is priced at $20.

Krueger says one of the great things about the sale is that less fortunate families can count on the yard sale to purchase things for their family they couldn't normally afford.

"It's amazing the amount of families that come through with their kids and buy stuff for their kids that they couldn't get at Christmas," he said.

Krueger was inspired to launch the sale 20 years ago when he heard the editor of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine speak about being on a council for the homeless, he said. He decided to start a little garage sale, and it has grown each year.

"We started out by helping PADS in Wheaton, and grew to the six organizations we help now," he said.

Regardless of the causes that contribute to homelessness, Krueger knows exactly what continues to motivate him after two decades.

"It's the families, the little children, that are put out on the street. That's the thing that bothers me the most," he said. "(I'm inspired) every time I go by a church in the morning and I see people stumbling out of it because they spent the night there," he said. "It's unbelievable that in this day and age, we still have (people who are homeless).

"The problem with homelessness is that you can't get out of it. Its almost like a Catch-22," he said.

For the second year, the sale is at Westfield Fox Valley. Krueger is grateful for the venue, as it had seemed that after every couple of years, the sale would get kicked out of locations - usually for being too large for the venue to support the number of people who showed up. After years in Naperville, Krueger crossed Route 59 into Aurora to find a site large enough for the sale and for the parking needed. The Westfield Fox Valley location worked well last year, Krueger said.

"We made more money in the rain there last year than we did the (previous) year," he said.

Krueger has set his first goal for this year's sale is to raise $150,000 to benefit the charities the sale supports. Proceeds are generated through sales and through a $5 admission charge for adults. Ages 12 and younger are admitted free.

For information, call (630) 369-0400 or visit greatamericanyardsale.com.

If you go

What: Great American Yard Sale

When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Where: Westfield Fox Valley mall, Route 59 at New York Street, Aurora

Cost: $5 for adults, free for ages 12 and younger

Details: Proceeds support six local agencies that help the homeless and working poor

Info: (630) 369-0400 or greatamericanyardsale.com