SMOKEY POINT — Although the proceeds are still being counted, organizers of the Stillaguamish Senior Center’s first fundraising garage sale on Saturday, Aug. 17, are hopeful that they met their goal of $2,000, to help support the Senior Center’s existing programs and maintain its current activities.
Cathy Nairn, a Stillaguamish Senior Center Board member who volunteered to coordinate the first in what she already expects will become an annual series of such garage sale fundraisers, estimated that as many as 300 attendees stopped by the Senior Center to check out its wares.
“A lot of them came in when it started, and another rush came in near the end,” Nairn said. “It was terrifically organized with a lot of help from our many wonderful volunteers.”
The event drew many self-described “junkers.” While Jeanne King perused the sale’s selection of VHS tapes for her old player, Marysville’s Jan Weitzel and Lynnwood’s Jeanne Kennedy jointly examined a plastic tablecloth suitable for children’s get-togethers.
“I’m in the market for anything that catches my eye,” Weitzel said.
“Anything that’s too precious to ignore,” agreed Kennedy, who was also looking for gifts for her son and grandson.
Arlington’s Bonnie Eklund and Mary Siegel hefted armfuls of careworn paperbacks, reflective of their shared love of mystery novels, while fellow Arlingtonians Alice Ewing and Chris Tucker found more fun stuff than they could sum up at once.
“I like all kinds of knick-knacks that I’m seeing here,” Ewing said.
“You just never know,” Tucker said. “There’s a lot of neat items out.”
Nairn thanked both the volunteers and the shoppers for making the sale such a success, which Stillaguamish Senior Center Executive Director Jo Olson noted was especially important after the burglaries of the Senior Center and its Thrift Store in April and May of this year.
“And all the money made from the garage sale will pay for our programs and activities to serve seniors,” Olson said. “We offer them everything from nutrition and other wellness programs to social events.”
