Summer. A time to sit around your house and just relax. It eventually gets too hot though, so you decide to get up and move to the basement, grabbing a cup and filling it with ice and water on the way. In the basement you see mounds of books, and clothes, and abandoned knick-knacks cluttered across the floor, like a strewn out blanket of sorts. You look around and see games, unopened, items that you were unaware had existed...
This was me the past summer. A friend and I entered her basement and witnessed exactly that.
"Well, what are you going to do with them?" I asked.
"I don't know yet, maybe throw them out?"
"That's a waste, there are so many nice things."
And that was the moment an idea was born. Charity garage sale. She didn't need the items, or the money (we live in a relatively affluent suburb on the outskirts of Cleveland). Our original plan was to donate used items such as old toddler clothes. But with the newer items, or even some gently used items, we decided to sell them in a garage sale. Our logic behind this was that if we could sell the items, the money could be given to the charity for food items, and other necessities that we didn't have. Clothes, however, are needed by charities at all times, so we gathered all the clothes and donated them appropriately. Now, to have a sale from just items of one house would not be worth it. What we did was try to get the community involved. I, along with a few friends, went around the neighborhood and asked if the neighbors had any gently used items in any category that they didn't need. The bounty from this was enormous. We got everything from unopened vintage board games, to picnic sets, to beautiful ceramic cases and cups. We did the advertising, organizing and planning all together; running to put up flyers at libraries, schools, malls, the community center, and apartment complexes. We even attempted online advertising as well. After setting dates (three separate), times, and location, we purchased garage sale permits. By this time, we also started to research for a charity. The thing about picking a charity is that you have to consider the impact of your contribution. This was in fact a small scale fundraising, relatively speaking. Our target goal was at least $100. That kind of money would be rendered obsolete if it were to be donated to a big, widely known charity. The kind of charity that a couple hundred dollars might make a difference in is a small, local charity. The next thing we have to think about is the cause we want to support. That was relatively easy: childhood education. The inner Cleveland area and some neighboring cities are greatly impoverished. The education system cannot support all kinds of people. Those that are disabled or poor can sometimes not receive a proper education. A local charity, Achievement Centers for Children, addresses these issues. This charity (located 15 minutes from our residence) supports and educates children who would not receive the proper learning experience otherwise. When we visited the center, we saw that it was a small building, but it had a grand vision. Education is vital, for all we know, the cure for cancer could be stuck inside the brain of a child who cannot receive a proper education.
The total amount of the money raised by the end of the third day was $315.80. We were proud of raising that amount, but more so of the fact that we had done something useful that could benefit the community.
That amount could buy school supplies, books, textbooks.
But I'm not writing this article to brag about this or what we have done. I'm writing this to show you that five determined 17-year-old teenagers can even do something to give back to the community. Doing community service is mandatory in high school not because teachers want to torture you and waste your time. It is mandatory because community service teachers character, compassion, and the importance of helping one's community. You learn through this to care about others, voluntarily do things that aid others, and give back to the community that raised you. Now not everyone should go around hosting garage sales, but anything helps. Volunteering at a local charity, organization and nursing home, doing cleanup projects and helping smaller children. All of these count. Get involved! Not just you, but your community too!
By no means are we all expected to start big and host tons and tons of fundraising and donate it to hospitals and animal shelters. But supporting and helping a cause that you believe in, no matter how small, CAN in fact make a difference, and someone's day. So turn that TV off, shut that computer screen, and grab a friend. Seize today to change our little bit of the world, one helping hand at a time.
Start small, dream big.
This was me the past summer. A friend and I entered her basement and witnessed exactly that.
"Well, what are you going to do with them?" I asked.
"I don't know yet, maybe throw them out?"
"That's a waste, there are so many nice things."
And that was the moment an idea was born. Charity garage sale. She didn't need the items, or the money (we live in a relatively affluent suburb on the outskirts of Cleveland). Our original plan was to donate used items such as old toddler clothes. But with the newer items, or even some gently used items, we decided to sell them in a garage sale. Our logic behind this was that if we could sell the items, the money could be given to the charity for food items, and other necessities that we didn't have. Clothes, however, are needed by charities at all times, so we gathered all the clothes and donated them appropriately. Now, to have a sale from just items of one house would not be worth it. What we did was try to get the community involved. I, along with a few friends, went around the neighborhood and asked if the neighbors had any gently used items in any category that they didn't need. The bounty from this was enormous. We got everything from unopened vintage board games, to picnic sets, to beautiful ceramic cases and cups. We did the advertising, organizing and planning all together; running to put up flyers at libraries, schools, malls, the community center, and apartment complexes. We even attempted online advertising as well. After setting dates (three separate), times, and location, we purchased garage sale permits. By this time, we also started to research for a charity. The thing about picking a charity is that you have to consider the impact of your contribution. This was in fact a small scale fundraising, relatively speaking. Our target goal was at least $100. That kind of money would be rendered obsolete if it were to be donated to a big, widely known charity. The kind of charity that a couple hundred dollars might make a difference in is a small, local charity. The next thing we have to think about is the cause we want to support. That was relatively easy: childhood education. The inner Cleveland area and some neighboring cities are greatly impoverished. The education system cannot support all kinds of people. Those that are disabled or poor can sometimes not receive a proper education. A local charity, Achievement Centers for Children, addresses these issues. This charity (located 15 minutes from our residence) supports and educates children who would not receive the proper learning experience otherwise. When we visited the center, we saw that it was a small building, but it had a grand vision. Education is vital, for all we know, the cure for cancer could be stuck inside the brain of a child who cannot receive a proper education.
The total amount of the money raised by the end of the third day was $315.80. We were proud of raising that amount, but more so of the fact that we had done something useful that could benefit the community.
That amount could buy school supplies, books, textbooks.
But I'm not writing this article to brag about this or what we have done. I'm writing this to show you that five determined 17-year-old teenagers can even do something to give back to the community. Doing community service is mandatory in high school not because teachers want to torture you and waste your time. It is mandatory because community service teachers character, compassion, and the importance of helping one's community. You learn through this to care about others, voluntarily do things that aid others, and give back to the community that raised you. Now not everyone should go around hosting garage sales, but anything helps. Volunteering at a local charity, organization and nursing home, doing cleanup projects and helping smaller children. All of these count. Get involved! Not just you, but your community too!
By no means are we all expected to start big and host tons and tons of fundraising and donate it to hospitals and animal shelters. But supporting and helping a cause that you believe in, no matter how small, CAN in fact make a difference, and someone's day. So turn that TV off, shut that computer screen, and grab a friend. Seize today to change our little bit of the world, one helping hand at a time.
Start small, dream big.