Hello Friday! It’s not just any Friday, it’s Preview Party Friday! Rummage Sale Eve, if you will. For a lot of people, they won’t know what that means, or maybe they won’t care, because it doesn’t affect them. But, for a large part of our community, they know exactly what it is, and they depend on it.
What’s the Rummage Sale? I’m glad you asked…
Every year, the first weekend of November, the Gadsden Service Guild hosts its annual Rummage Sale. It starts on Friday night with the Preview Party. You purchase a ticket for $10.00 and you get to shop the sale early, so to speak. On Saturday morning, the doors open at 6:00 am, and for $1.00, you get to shop toys, clothing, home goods, furniture, etc.
The sale closes up for an hour from 11:00 am-12:00 pm ( a girls gotta eat!!), and then reopens from 12:00 pm-1:00pm for the $5.00 bag sale.
The $5.00 bag sale is so fun! For $5.00, you get a large lawn & leaf bag, and if it fits, it’s yours! Drag or carry out, ripped or intact, if you can get it in there, it’s yours!
What is Gadsden Service Guild?
In a nutshell, we’re a group of women that come together to assist our community. We work hard to help non profits meet their bottom line, whether it be through a monetary donation or with time spent, because they need a little helping hand.
Gadsden Service Guild was founded in the 1930’s as an alternative to Junior League, because our median household income didn’t qualify for Junior League. Incessant on making a difference, a small group of women wouldn’t accept that, and so they started their own non profit.
We stand strong nearly 90 years later, continuing to build upon and sustain the legacy of a group of women that shared one idea and vision: Build Community Through Service.
Much like a sorority, we have legacy’s that join, and as a mother, that always tickles my heart! I think there’s something sweet and endearing about continuing the work where your mother left off. I’m a bit old fashioned, and I’m not sorry one bit about it!
Why an off-brand post?
This is my final year, last Rummage Sale with GSG. I’ve served my five year commitment, so I get kicked out now. Ha! I owe a lot to GSG. It got me through the worst break up of my life, it placed me in a position to make a few friends that I now call my sisters, and it really taught me to be something I never was before: Selfless.
I’d never realized it before, but I’d always been somewhat entitled. While I’ve had my fair share of hard times, I suppose they pale in comparison to others. When you see a parent purchasing jackets for their children, or a grandparent buying toys for their grandkids for Christmas, that’s when you realize how privileged you really are.
Oftentimes, I found it hard to differentiate between a person needing a hand up or a hand out. Had I not joined GSG, I don’t know that I’d have ever known, or cared, about knowing the difference.
What we do matters, it makes a huge difference, and I’m beyond proud to have spent five years serving my community through Gadsden Service Guild. I’m proud to hopefully, one day, pass my legacy on to my daughter. I pray that she remembers the work that we’ve done, and the difference that we make, and that she is eager to join.
What does Gadsden Service Guild mean to me?
The world.
Know your worth and know what you can do with it. Find something that you care about and invest in it. Jump in whole heartedly, face first, because I promise you, it’ll be worth it. If there’s an ounce of a chance that you can give someone a glimmer of hope that society isn’t the heartless bastard that the media likes to show you on TV, take it. If you can make a difference, make it!
That’s what Gadsden Service Guild means to me.