2023 Rummage Sale
For decades, our church has hosted an annual rummage sale that occupies most of our 11,000-square-foot building for up to a week each summer.
This sale is a community event from beginning to end. It gives people a place to bring items that they no longer use. Families get to shop together for things they might not be able to purchase new in-store. And our volunteers get to enjoy building relationships and getting to know one another better.
Over the past thirty years, this event has helped raise over a hundred thousand dollars for the Family Renewal Shelter, an organization that helps women and children impacted by the trauma of domestic violence. It also helps raise money for our youth programs and their summer service trips, like last year’s trip to the Yakama Nation in Eastern Washington.
But those are just the obvious gifts. Smaller miracles happen each year during the sale. Here are a few that our volunteers noticed in this past year alone:
● Grandparents who had been newly tasked with raising three grandchildren were able to purchase two badly needed bed frames, bedding, a table and chairs, in addition to much-needed clothing.
● A young carpenter was able to replace many of his tools that had been stolen and were uninsured, allowing him to continue the work of his vital trade.
● Volunteers gave a young pregnant woman suffering from dehydration some water so she could recuperate and shop for items for her coming baby.
● Some perceptive youth volunteers noticed a young woman who needed something to eat and offered her some food from our kitchen.
● Multiple families depend on the sale each year as part of their back-to-school shopping for their growing children.
● A boy found the perfect bicycle helmet; a woman found sheets made of just the right material; and a young man found a 14-carat gold opal necklace that brought him joy.
So many of these moments were opportunities to help our neighbors in need and serve others in a way that Christ invites us.
Our members—aside from shopping for themselves—also find gifts in other ways through the Rummage Sale. Each year, storied volunteers and newbies alike tell us that they’ve enjoyed meeting new people and getting to know fellow church members better as they work together during that week, doing all of the prep work. It also offers a unique opportunity for our youth volunteers to gain some service hours while spending time side by side working alongside those who are many years older than them, in a way that is not always available in our society.
After last year’s sale ended, the church gave 94 bags of clothes and shoes to the Boys and Girls Club, furniture to the Northwest Furniture Bank, and many smaller household items to the United Way Care Center. A vanload of items also went to the Deseret Industries Thrift Store.
It does require a monumental effort, and we are always so delighted with the generosity of our members and friends with their donations. Every year, we’re impressed by those who sort, tidy, price, and make never-ending organizing decisions. We are grateful to those who come to spend their money generously—many give over and above the purchase total for their items. And we are also always humbled by the prayer and faith behind all of the actions.
The giving might start with an unbelievable collection of material things, but it does not stop there. This event keeps on giving and strengthening both the church and our extended community in ways that have more value than any material items could ever have.
We are grateful to all those who make this possible and for our chance to be a small part of the miracle that is the PUMC Rummage Sale. If you’ve ever been involved as a volunteer or as a shopper, you likely know some of this. If you haven’t, consider this your invitation to join us! We can always use more willing hands!
