Sep
29
Beginning mid-June the James Bay Community Closet realized that the shop had a surplus of very good summer and fall clothing donations. Our storage was so full, our volunteers decided to hold a "$5 all you can fit in a bag sale" on Saturday, August 22.
The sale was a tremendous success and great fun! We hung posters two weeks prior, we advertised in the local newspaper, and two student volunteers canvassed the area with posters. Small hand-outs were made up, and a volunteer distributed these as she walked to and from home.
Our theme was "Dress Yourself Saturday at the Community Closet." Mannequins, with a girdle on the lady and a tie around man's neck, expressed this theme.
Word spread quickly via the grapevine as people looked forward to the sale. Business was very slow on Friday, August 21 - the calm before the storm.
Much to our astonishment, on Saturday morning there was a big line-up of happy customers just waiting for the fun to begin. (We really did not know what to expect, but we were prepared for anything.) By 10:15 a.m. the store had forty or fifty happy, busy shoppers all anticipating a good buy. Moms, kids, husbands, boyfriends, everyone was in a very cheerful mood, and the store reverberated with lively Latin music to shop by.
Bags were sold at the counter for $5 and packed to bursting, many customers not even trying clothes on. We converted the office into an extra change room as there were long line-ups. People of all shapes, sizes and ages got dressed at the Community Closet.
Volunteers had previously filled a thousand hangers with merchandise, and steadily they refilled the racks - this was the most tangible proof of how successful we had been - clothes flew off the hangers.
By 12:30 p.m. things slowed down. In the afternoon the store was eighty per cent sold out; but people kept coming in and quietly buying up what was left. Any clothing dropped off in the donation box went immediately on the racks and sold. By the end of the day the store was almost empty!
Our Volunteers
A big thank you to our volunteers! They spent all Friday empting bags and hanging clothing until every single hanger was gone - a thousand items. Nine volunteers in all worked non-stop to make the event a success. The James Bay Community Closet relies heavily on the help from our hard working, good-natured and cheerful volunteers. We couldn't do it without them.
Thank you for your support!
The Community Closet would like to say Thank You! to our donor stores, our customers, our local businesses and volunteers. As a result of your participation a newfound awareness of the shop has been established, which has ensured the Community Closet is a must-stop to browse and purchase "new and gently used quality clothing in all sizes."
See you soon!
The Community Closet is a volunteer-run store operating under the umbrella of the James Bay Community Project. Proceeds from the store go toward funding other essential programs in James Bay.