Rummage Sale Wrap Up

This year's rummage sale returned to its previous scale (in two buildings, with Mexican food for sale) and was a great success!

Though the volume of donated goods was lower than we've historically had and the traffic through the buildings felt lower than usual to some of our volunteers, it was steady traffic and our guests were paying customers!  Expenses haven't all been calculated yet, but we expect to exceed $30,000 in profit.

This couldn't have happened without the managers who plan this for months in advance and who rely on hard-won experience to ensure a smooth sale.  Jean Luft took the lead this year, with Mary Moring and Pat Trafton supervising things in Oldershaw Hall. Patricia Ramos organized and supervised food sales (and barely sat down!).

The Evanston police were there for securtity, as was a staff person providing city information at a 311 table.

We are also particularly grateful for the volunteers who heard our announcements and helped for the first time -- before, during, and after the sale (rummage sale cleanup isn't a glamorous job. We are very grateful for those who help it all get done within a couple of hours).

For those who are wondering:  Kateri O'Shea and Tina Stretch arrange for everything left at the end of the day to be donated to local charities (except for a few high-value items that volunteers try to sell online). Goodwill and the Chicago Furniture Bank are hugely helpful. The furniture bank truck crew was determined to fit all the usable furniture in their truck -- and they did!).  We have a scrap metal recycler on site, and make sure that all paper and cardboard are also recycled. Signs, crates, tables, and display materials are saved in the church basement for reuse).

Deb Winarski took more than 500 photos before and during the sale (for Facebook publicity and also for the records of future planning teams). You can see a selection in the albums  below (a Facebook account is not required to view parish photos).

Rummage Sale Photo Album 1
Rummage Sale Photo Album 2

This sale is a great service to the Evanston and Chicago communities, a great way to responsibly use our resources, and a wonderful community-building day.  Thank you to ALL who helped!

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