Patricia F. Doering Happy Summer 2005! Summer is traditionally a time to slow down a little, isn't it? In other words, time for vacations, a little time away from business and work, time for picnics, time for families, time for reading that book you've had on your shelf for months, time to work on that car sitting in your garage, time to visit grandparents, time to see summer movies -- all of those enjoyable things we seem to put off when the human race appears to be in full Winter (and Spring) swing. Even with all of this relaxation, it always surprises us that churches do not hold rummage sales during the summer. Why not? People are out on bicycles or en route to all kinds of activities. Churches may even be able to encourage more people to volunteer to help with church sales. Getting volunteers to work Rummage Sales takes a huge effort on the part of churches. If you frequent rummage sales, you may notice that many of the volunteers are in their 60's or older. The only difference in this trend is the March Thursday Club Rummage Sale, held in Balboa Park. As part of the Thursday Club's requirements for membership, members must volunteer at the sale and spend many long hours working at the sale. Churches do not require that. Perhaps they might consider it. Perhaps they could establish a group within the church which might encourage younger members to participate and to donate to the sale, to help the church and beneficiaries of the sale. We're concerned that if this trend continues -- that of the disappearing older workers -- that Rummage Sales will ultimately disappear as well. And that would indeed be a tragedy. For where else in San Diego--other than certain thrift stores--can one find such bargains? They remain the best place in town for finding all kinds of near new stuff as well as collectibles, books and household items including electronics. One sad example of what we have been writing about here is the demise of the Lemon Grove Church's Bi-Annual Rummage Sale. We recently learned that this church will no longer host Rummage Sales, for the reasons stated here -- the disappearance of older workers without replacement of younger church members. This sale was a small sale, but there were still treasures to be found there. And it was the only sale held in the East County area that we know of. Therefore, if you are a church member and your church hosts annual Rummage Sales, we urge you to find a way to encourage younger members to participate. One of the problems we have observed is that the same members work day in and day out, with little time off. Why not bring in new members to handle different parts of the sale, such as setup and placement -- perhaps by room or location? Some of the churches do this but it is exhausting work for seniors and we be lieve there must be a better way to distribute the workload. So, in closing, there really are no summer Rummage Sales (if you hear of one please email us at 2ndhand4u@cox.net); the next large sale is in September, hosted by St. James Church By-the-Sea in La Jolla. (Please check our calendar for exact dates.) And, enjoy your summer!
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