The Joy at the End of the Sale

Written by Kathy Fritz

The Parent Talk Used Clothing, Toy, and Equipment Sale was once again a huge success. We raised money for Parent Talk, shoppers were thrilled with the items they bought at bargain prices, and many new people volunteered. What many Parent Talk members don’t know, however, is that the sale serves another important function. When the bag sale ends at 1:00 p.m., charities enter the church and collect what is left. This is my favorite part of sale weekend, and I’d like to share what one charity (Arm2Arm) emailed to us about this opportunity.

We were overwhelmed by the generosity of Parent Talk. We got plenty of gently worn children's clothing and shoes for the kids in the DR [Dominican Republic]. The volunteers from the other charities were also fun to work with and generous. They put shorts aside for us and we tossed them warm clothes. The Parent Talk volunteers just swooped through filling our bags with t-shirts, dresses, and shoes. We are especially excited about all the sneakers and sandals we got. Honestly, [on our last visit to the DR] all of us volunteers left the DR with just one pair of shoes to wear home and left our others there, because kids and adults were walking around with bare feet. From a health and safety standpoint, the shoes were important. We bring down hundreds of flip-flops, but the boys especially get excited about the sneakers. I grabbed quite a few pairs of boys’ jeans, which I am so grateful for. I know I told you about the young boy wearing the little girl jeans inside out so the pink stitching would not show. That image just sticks with me. I think of all my son had at that age and all our kids have. This is a wonderful partnership because it allows the generous parents in your group to reach out to kids and other parents in need. It is such a good service. Thank you.

I was so touched by Arm2Arm’s email, but more so, I’d like to say to them and the other charities that were there, “Thank you. You do such good service.”