ABC Sale Results
Peggy and Ted Pratt

The 41st annual ABC Sale was held on Saturday, March 29th

Despite intermittent spring showers, the sale raised a record $24,857.71 due to the efforts of our hard working and dedicated volunteers and all those who contributed merchandise and shopped for the best of bargains at our first class, second hand sale!! The sale once again provided not only an opportunity for the parish to make a contribution to the community through the donation of the sale profits, but the week also provided an opportunity to deepen and strengthen the ties within our parish community. The sale was a success on both counts! Despite the confusion and challenges this event creates, everyone involved worked together toward that common mission.

Throughout the week, hundreds of volunteers helped in sorting, transporting, organizing, and pricing donations. On sale day, volunteers helped with everything from selling merchandise to crowd control. A special thanks to all the department chairs who gave up their week to help make this sale such a success.

Many groups within or connected with our parish volunteered to take on a piece of this sale. Those groups included our EYC who helped set up for the sale; the ECM who helped with cleanup; the Habitat partnership who assisted with set up, clean up, and sorting; the Youth Inquirers class who made and served lunch to sale attendees; the Girl Scouts who ran the bake sale; and the Boy Scouts who manned the church lot. A contribution from sale profits was made to ECM and Habitat groups for their mission trips.

Thanks to all the volunteers for helping make this sale such a successful event.

Thanks also to the parish staff who were disrupted in carrying out their duties during ABC week and to the Preschool, which closes for the entire week so we can use that space to set up and carry out the sale. The ABC Sale is truly a parish wide effort!

More on the ABC Sale

In a letter to department chairs, Peggy and Ted Pratt, co-chairs of the sale, listed these additional results of the sale.

• The Friends of the Department of Social Services and the residents of Freedom House were delighted to be able to shop for free the last 30-45 minutes.
• Thompson Children's Home was able to bolster their supply of suitcases for their children.
• This year's pre-sale excess clothing went to St. Joseph's AME Church.
• The leftover women's clothes will go to Ashe County, and the men's clothes have gone to the prison.
• The prison also took some of our books for their library.
• The Kids Clothes for Kinhasa program took baby clothes and some toys that they will take on their trip to the Congo in April to help AIDS mothers and children.
• Stuffed animals were also collected for the Police Department to use when they have to transport children in difficult situations.
• A load of items went up to Orange Congregations in Mission in Hillsborough and the remainder was picked up by Thrift World for their shop in Durham.

Detailed information about the uses of the sale money will be listed in a later issue of Cross Roads.

Members of the Social Ministry Committee have solicited requests for distribution of ABC Sale funds. They will make recommendations to the vestry, and the vestry will make the final decisions about recipients of ABC Sale funds.

The model of the chapel pictured below was made by parishioner Martin Rody as a part of the garden shop's birdhouse contest. It was offered in a special silent auction and purchased by the church school.

Send items for inclusion in future "Cross Roads."
The deadline is the first Thursday of the preceeding month.

© 2003 The Chapel of the Cross