Our Community Yard Sale in June 2024 made us a little bit of green that we will put right back into community programming. Equally importantly, the “Go Green and Go Home” event prevented many, many pickup truck loads of household items and clothing from entering our landfills. Neighbors also participated on sale day by setting up tables at The Hill School’s Center For The Arts parking lot to sell their collectibles, unwanted items, and homemade crafts.
Each year the Pottstown CARES organization – run by students and staff at The Hill School and Pottstown High School – collects items that Hill residential students cannot take home at the end of their Hill academic career. (Many Hill students come from out-of-state or out of the country, so their travels prevent them from carting everything home). The “Go Green and Go Home” donations are sorted for distribution to local nonprofits that make use of items ranging from blankets, towels, and desk lamps, to toiletries, unopened nonperishable food, and books. This year’s beneficiaries included, among others: Pottstown Beacon of Hope, the Ricketts Center, Better World Books, Ian’s Boots, the Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities, the Pottstown Area Social Innovations Lab, Mission First, Pottstown’s Little Free Libraries, and Operation 143.
Remaining clothing, decorative accessories, fans and small appliances, and other cast-offs are sold for extremely low prices – often a dollar or two – at the Hobart’s Run Yard sale. At the end of the day, unsold “merchandise” is delivered to Liberty Thrift for its ministry work. We estimate that well over 3,000 items – from coats to carpets – have found new homes due to this massive collaboration.
