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St. Max street sale Saturday will put old objects to new community use




By Brock Weir

If you've uncovered unwanted items collecting dust in your garages or basements during spring cleaning, dust them off and put them to good use this weekend.

New and used household goods, gear, books and clothes can be turned into some gleaming new bleachers for St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic High School and the myriad of local sports teams which call their field home.

Student and parent volunteers will take over the school's parking lot on Wellington Street East, between Industrial Parkway North and John West Way, this Saturday, May 3, for the first of what they hope will be an annual street sale.

“We needed to do something different to really raise a fair amount of funds for the school and normal means of fundraising are sometimes difficult,” says Rob Della Rocca, head of the Fundraising Committee. “It is difficult to ask parents for money all the time, so we figure at this time of year people are cleaning out their houses, basements and garages and it is a great time for their own yard sale or street sale.”

Students were busy last Thursday afternoon sorting out the beginnings of what has turned out to be a mountain of items ranging from books to badminton equipment, from kitchen utensils to knitting guides, and from paintings of plants to kitchen pots. And there is always room for more.

Students, teachers and parents will be working into this Friday night sorting items and will take in any donations up until 6 pm. Parents will handle the donations, and then on Saturday, it's show time – rain or shine.

If the heavens open up, the sale will be moved indoors, but the event will feature music and a community barbeque.

“Our goal is trying to help people get what they want and bring the community together,” says St. Max student Aram Derharoutunian. “The proceeds will benefit both the Town and the School.”

Adds Mr. Della Rocca: “We need to add about 900 seats of bleachers to the sports field. This is one of our agenda items. The amount of funds we need to raise for that is substantial. It will be a long-term project and hopefully this will be the first annual event. But, in doing the bleachers, it not only benefits the school but it benefits the Town and the whole area. Coming to events and being able to join an event in a proper seat and being able to see the game draws the area and helps build a sense of community, too.”

Building a community seems to be the watchword of the students, teachers, and parents working towards this Saturday's sale. When they put out a call for student volunteers last month to help helm the sale, they weren't exactly sure what to expect, or how many lunch hours it would take to fill the need.

“In the first lunch hour, we had about 30 signups and we were done in an hour,” says Mr. Della Rocca. “There was a phenomenal response and it was great to see that. The kids want to be involved and that they want to be involved in their school and their community is a great sign and says a lot about their character.”

Adds teacher Michelle Miranda: “I think it is a great community-building activity as well not only for our school but for the community at large. Besides the money, it is also about generating excitement for the event, so it builds on its success year over year.”

Doors open for the St. Max Street Sale at 8 a.m., running until 2 p.m. The school is located at 278 Wellington Street East. The parking lot is best accessed via the Industrial Parkway North entrance, on the east side of street just north of Centre.
Excerpt: If you’ve uncovered unwanted items collecting dust in your garages or basements during spring cleaning, dust them off and put them to good use this weekend.
Post date: 2014-04-30 13:54:00
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