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Huge charity yard sale underway, could be event’s final year

Writer's picture: Ron GiofuRon Giofu
Charity yard sale organizers and volunteers pose for photo
Volunteers with the Hope of St. Joseph charity yard sale were busy last weekend at the home of Mary and Marc Beneteau, 3560 Middle Side Road. The yard sale raises thousands for three shelters in the D. R. Congo with the shelters housing and caring for youth in the African nation. The yard sale resumes this Thursday-Saturday (Aug. 1-3) from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. each day.

One weekend is over for the huge charity yard sale for the Hope of St. Joseph Shelter and there is one weekend left to go.


The large yard sale is at the home of Marc and Mary Beneteau at 3560 Middle Side Road and the first weekend ran last Thursday through Saturday. 


It resumes this Thursday through Saturday (Aug. 1-3) from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. each day.


The Hope of St. Joseph Charity reports they raised $13,000 in the first weekend and hope to surpass $20,000 when the second weekend concludes. 


New items arrived Monday and Tuesday and are expected to be for sale this weekend.


Those who love attending the yard sale may want to ensure they get there this weekend, if they haven’t been there already, as it’s possible it could be the final year for the yard sale in its current form.


“We’re off to a good start,” said Mary, noting last Thursday was busy. 


Mary said she hears from people who know about the three shelters in the D. R. Congo that the proceeds help support. 


“There are people who tell me the things they know,” she said.


The shelters are run by Father Donato Lwiyando, a former associate priest at St. John the Baptist Church. He started with a girls shelter and has expanded to a boys shelter and efforts are now underway to build a school at the site. 


Father Donato also does his best to feed approximately 250 “street kids,” youth who have been orphaned or abandoned and left to live on the street through no fault of their own.


The D. R. Congo has been impacted by war and Mary said companies, many from North America, go into the African nation and take minerals from under the Earth and leave those on top of it homeless in the process.


Setting up for the yard sale takes about six weeks, as tents are erected, goods that were stored in the barn on the property taken back out, donations sorted and tables put around the property.


“We have some really nice stuff,” said Mary. “The donors are really good. There’s a great variety.”


Most who donate goods to the charity yard sale are from Amherstburg, she said, but there are some from around Windsor-Essex County.


“I started collecting stuff last November,” said Mary.


Father Donato has been trying to bring more girls into the shelter and get them off the streets, she added.


“There’s no room,” she said. “He squeezes them in because he knows what’s going to happen to them if he doesn’t.”


Father Donato is aware of the yard sale and wished them well, Mary added.

“We need a lot of money because the school is under construction right now,” said Mary. “We get what we get. We hope for a successful year.”


Mary indicated this will likely be the last year the yard sale is presented in its current form. While she still enjoys putting the yard sale on, personal and family circumstances are causing organizers to look at other ways to raise money.


“If we have it next year, it’ll be a smaller version,” she said. “It’s a lot of work for the volunteers.”


The volunteers “have been amazing,” she added, and they are doing new tasks they haven’t done in previous years.


“We have to figure things out. There’s a lot of things to have to figure out. We’re sad to have to downsize or maybe let it go,” she said. “We have no other option. I’d love to keep it going but circumstances won’t allow it. All good things must come to an end.”


In the meantime, Mary said she is thrilled with the crowds this year and meeting the people that stop by.


“It’s so much fun. I love it,” said Mary. “We’re hoping someone shows up and allows us to pass the torch.”


For more information on the Hope of St. Joseph charity, visit their website at  www.hopeislife.ca

Huge charity yard sale underway, could be event’s final year

By Ron Giofu

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