1st ever garage sale for charity in India

It was 12th April 2014.The garden was filled with clothes of all sizes and colors, toys, books and kitchen ware. It was a special day for the members of the Women’s discussions group ,Kilpauk. These ladies had been collecting used/unused clothes and articles for their charity sale for the past 2 months. Inspired by opportunity shops in NZ this group set out to carry out this plan.

Items which had been sorted and priced were now attractively displayed. Brand new items were laid out on a separate counter. Posters telling of the sale ,time ,date and venue had been displayed in the neighborhood. It was a time of joy and excitement as the happy shoppers delved into the stalls.

Within an hour and a half everything was sold out and people came in asking for more. The Barbie dolls with designer clothes (made from scrap fabric by my friends and nieces),building blocks, cushions and women’s wear disappeared first. The smiles on the faces of the children hugging their teddy, teens trying on Nike shoes ,men looking for the perfect suitcase and women posing in front of the mirror with a dream sari in hand-brought tears to our eyes. A brand new silk sari which was a generous donation was the prize for the draw ,which was a fitting finale for the evening. A gas mechanic walked away with the sari and an auto driver beamed with his second prize.

If we had more such sales, we will have neater homes and less garbage.

Our maids drivers , watchmen and we too will have the joy and dignity of shopping in our neighborhood and getting things we need at cheap prices.

This is community living at its best!

Since then the group has had 5 sales. The money collected has been given to charities in the city.