An Elmira school is hosting a white elephant sale today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., all to support a charitable cause.
St. Teresa of Avila is continuing the fundraising tradition that collected $950 last year. All the proceeds go to KidsAbility, an organization dedicated to empowering children and youth with special needs.
“My daughter was one that used KidsAbility services, and we know the amazing work that we’ve done,” said Anna Tupling, one of the teachers at St. Teresa who spearheaded the idea. “Because it was a great success [last year], we wanted to do it again this year.”
Up until Monday, the school was collecting items of new or gently used items to fill up the white elephant sale. Books, toys, and household items will all be up for grabs
Items are priced to move – stuffed animals and books range from $0.25 up to $1, for instance while household items are $1-$5, typically. Keeping prices low also helps with the cash-only endeavour.
Tupling noted that clothing wasn’t a huge seller last year, but other items such as games, toys, and books were popular.
“There’s a pretty big variety for people to pick from,” she said. “It helped us repurpose items throughout the community that would normally go to the waste sites, or being thrown out or discarded. So we knew we were helping out environmentally.”
It will also feature a silent auction, which includes a donated Sugar Kings prize pack that includes hats, sweaters, and season’s tickets. Cash or cheques are accepted in the silent auction.
An added twist this year is the butter tart bake-off, the brainchild of French teacher Mary Baldasaro. It costs $5 to enter the competition, with those proceeds going to the chosen charity. Students make a minimum of a dozen nut-free butter tarts to be evaluated by judges.
“Somebody she knows whose grandfather in the community has really strong skills in the baking department, and makes a mean butter tart,” said Tupling. “So to involve the students a little bit as well, she thought it would be fun if we could have people enter.”
The winner to be declared will lay claim to bragging rights. The butter tarts will then be sold at the auction. Any unsold items will go to the Mennonite Central Committee in Elmira for their relief work.
“We’re really excited, and hopefully we can raise some money for the cause,” said Tupling.
