Answering The Call: Yard Sales for Missions

Friday, December 13, 2013

Yard Sales for Missions

An excerpt from...

Yard Sales for Missions

A checklist for your missions event
By Shelly McCollum, Support Staff
October-December 2013

Do you use a checklist or Post-it® notes as reminders of tasks you do not want to forget? If you do, you will love this checklist idea for a yard sale for missions. We all have things around our house that we do not use anymore. Why not have a yard sale and donate the proceeds to your favorite cause or missionary?

Weeks leading up to the sale:

Pick a cause or missionary who will benefit from your sale.
Gather unused items and sort into categories.
Price each piece using pre-priced tags or masking tape (my favorite).
- Keep prices in even amounts and price nothing under 25 cents to make giving back change easier.
Decide on a location and gather tables, benches, and clothes racks.
Check on deadlines for placing advertisements in newspapers and online.

Week of sale:

Begin set-up.
Work on wording for advertisements. Include key items such as “children’s clothes, baby bed, household items, sofa, fishing equipment, toys.” Don’t forget to include starting and ending times. Including the phrase “Proceeds go to missions” also helps draw people. Some will even tell you to keep the change.
Place the advertisement in the newspaper and any online venues. Talk about it on Facebook.
Pick up change from the bank—quarters, dollars, fives.
Line up helpers for the day. If you have large pieces of furniture, having someone who can help lift and carry furniture is a big help.

Day of sale:

Put signs up on your street directing customers to your location.
Assign jobs to helpers—cashier, bagger, someone to answer questions, someone to straighten up clothes and other areas.
Be prepared to open on time.

After sale:

Consider donating whatever is left over to charity. Some charities will pick up your donations for free.
Send in your gift to your cause or missionary. Mission accomplished!