It’s that time of year again. Garage sales are popping up faster than dandelions but not everybody has a garage or enough stuff to warrant a sale. There’s one local youth group that wants to help you with that, with a big event ramping up to launch at the end of the month.
The 12th St. Albert Scouts’ massive garage sale is coming back again but it first needs to build up its inventory with the help of the public. According to organizer Steve Sande, that has proven to be slower than expected.
“We’re trying to scramble for support,” he said, explaining that they advertised for donations for four consecutive weeks to draw attention to the cause with minimal response. “About 10 people responded.”
He is repeating that call for donations by reminding the city what the Scouts are doing it all for. Along with supplementing the funding for its regular lineup of summer camps, the fundraiser exists to help offset the staggering costs of sending a troop of 17 of its members to this summer’s Jamboree in Japan.
It’s expected to cost each attendee between $4,000 and $5,000.
While the Scouts do run other fundraisers (such as their popular annual popcorn sale) to boost their coffers, nothing comes even close to how well they did with last year’s garage sale that brought in approximately $24,000 through more than 1,300 transactions.
A large part of that success was because tax receipts were being offered for item donations. Sande had hoped that that could continue this year but said that is now only offered for monetary donations over $25.
“We had a big offering with the tax deduction. I think that really lit up the lines last year,” he said, noting that the national organization issued 250 tax receipts.
“Just based on manpower and administration, we couldn’t offer the same thing this year. We overwhelmed Scouts Canada. We blew their mind.”
He’s got his fingers crossed that won’t prove to be too much of a setback, especially since the 12th Scouts have already invested about $20,000 of its own money into producing this event. Hopes are indeed high for a solid return from the garage sale before the tent gets folded back up at the end of next month.
People can donate items including sports equipment, household items, furniture, books, clothes, tools, kids toys, and more. The organizers are also hoping for corporate sponsorships and business donations, including the possibility of on site food vendors.
Items can be brought directly to the site located at the King of Kings Lutheran Church, 54211 Range Rd 253 on St. Albert Trail on the north side of the city. People can also call 780-616-8528 or email [email protected] to schedule a pickup or learn more about the event.
The garage sale is set to take place every weekend from May 29 through June 28. It will run 5 to 9 p.m. on Fridays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.
Visit www.scoutgaragesale.com for other details.
