posted Jun 4, 2012, 9:13 AM by Bryant Henry
[
updated May 5, 2015, 4:41 AM
]
What Rummage Sale Means
to Me

Jay Brosten
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My grandfather
ran a fruit cart in Chicago. One day
he found an abandoned tire, put it in the cart, and ended up making more
money from selling the tire than from selling his fruit. Before long he got into the tire recycling
business and my father followed in his footsteps. Eventually my father became a pioneer in
the auto recycling industry. Today, my
company, Auto Parts City Inc. in Gurnee, is a state-of-the-art auto recycling
facility. We process over 12,000 cars
annually and recycle over 80% of the cars’ parts – metals, fluids, tires, and
glass.
This
multi-generational commitment to the environment attracted me to the rummage
sale. I first became involved in 1996
and currently provide metal and electronics recycling for unsold donated
items, trailers for the storage of donations, trucks and labor for donation
pickups, and a dumpster for disposing of waste. In addition we donate abandoned personal
items from our recycled vehicles to the sale.
The rummage
sale keeps thousands of pounds of waste out of landfills, ensures that unsold
items are recycled or properly disposed of, and provides affordable goods to
shoppers. Over the years, the sale has
donated tens of thousands of dollars to social service organizations. Working on the rummage sale has been a
rewarding experience and has helped me build long lasting friendships. It has been well worth the effort.
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Fran Myers
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Rummage Sale
has become a (most unlikely) passion for me for so many reasons that I am
unable to count them or even articulate all of them. It is about helping our neighbors who have
less than we do. I love it when
shoppers take a load out to their cars and then come back for more! It is about saving the Earth one landfill
item at a time. How many plastic
children’s toys, bikes, furniture have we seen go to happy recipients? It is the smiles on the faces of kids as
they clutch a toy they couldn’t otherwise afford. It is about the wonderful friends I have
made while sorting, lifting, and toting.
It is the delicious food brought in by church members to help keep us
energized. It is about giving back to
our many community agencies which are working hard to help people in
need. For me it is Church at its very
best and it feeds my soul.
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Bob Werdan
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The NSUC
Rummage Sale means different things to different people. I used to think “there must be easier ways
to raise money.” Lots of dedicated
people work for weeks in advance, and then it’s over in a day.
Then about two
years ago, it was late in the sale and a girl was spending a lot of time in
the outside toy area. I thought she
was watching her sister, but she was actually trying to figure out what she
could afford for her newborn baby.
This young mother was maybe 16 years old and she was clearly on a very
tight budget. She never asked me to
reduce the price, but I could tell she was making lots of calculations as she
asked the price for each item. I asked her which items she wanted and how
much she could spend. She did not have
enough for everything, so I told her “since it was after 2:00 everything is
half price” and I thought she was going to cry. We packed her little car with a stroller, a
highchair and a bag of learning toys.
She must have said thank you 20 times.
That’s what the NSUC Rummage Sale means to me. You should volunteer...you might have your
own story!
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