Literally tons of things flood into the AFSC Material Assistance Program (aka the Clothing Center) in Cambridge Massachusetts each year. The great majority of the goods donated to us are distributed free of charge. We provide clothing and household goods to people in need with the help of 25 human service agencies in the greater Boston area. Some our assistance goes to places like Afghanistan, Africa and South America via partner organizations and EMAP Philadelphia.

But what to do with all the knick knacks, jewelry, gourmet kitchenware and fancy clothing that come to us along with the more useful items? The NERO Material Assistance Program has figured out how use them to raise money for our program and have lots of fun doing it!

Our semi-annual tag sale has become a fixture in the spring and fall. We are known for offering high quality items at great prices. Some of our satisfied customers return to us as donors or volunteers. We discovered it's one of our best outreach tools!

Our latest tag sale took place on May 11^th at the Cambridge Friends' Meeting Center, upstairs from the Clothing Center. Volunteers pack away things to sell for the sale for 6 months before hand. The two weeks prior to the sale are spent sorting and pricing the hundreds of items for sale. Nothing was priced over $40, and most items were $5 or less. On Friday we set up the tables with our wares displayed in a most attractive way.

The day of the sale, a half a dozen friendly volunteers were stationed, waiting to serve the crowd of patrons who stream in the first hour! We were lucky to have a visitor to help us out--Carlos Mejia, Director of the Emergency and Material Assistance Program in Philadelphia. He enthusiastically greeted people at the door, gave people information about our program and had people sign our mailing list. Debka Colson, Program Supervisor from NERO gave him a hand.

Customers ranged from Members of the Cambridge Meeting to neighbors to random people who saw our flyer posted or an ad in the newspaper. People chat, try on a piece of clothing and bargain, with festive music playing in the background.

At the end of the day, we are tired but happy…the sale was a big success! We took in $3000 to help our program thrive! But best of all we had a good time and made some new friends for our program.

Annie Goglia
Program Coordinator
AFSC NERO MAP

---

NERO Material Aids Program | National Emergency and Material Assistance Program | AFSC Home

About AFSC | News | Jobs & Volunteering | How to Give | Program Topics | Where We Work
Upcoming Events | What's New | Periodicals/Newsletters | Resources & Links

Last changed: May 21, 2002.