Garage sales are not only a good way to raise funds for individuals and families, but also for local charities.
Several local charitable organizations held garage sales Saturday during Neosho’s annual city-wide event as a way of making money to help others.
Local teams with the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life held a boot block at the intersection of Harmony and Neosho Boulevard Saturday.
Kelly Emmanuel, team development coordinator for the Newton County Relay For Life, said 19 members of various Relay teams were working two-hour shifts at the event, which was styled after the fire department’s annual boot block for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The Relay event was held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
“This is our first boot block and it has been a very positive experience,” Emmanuel said. “People have been donating, but when they have found out what it’s for, they’ve dug down a little deeper.”
Emmanuel said the event was kind of last minute, as organizers just received confirmation from the Neosho Traffic Commission approving the boot block on Wednesday.
Figures on how much Relay collected from passing motorists will be released in the near future, Emmanuel said.
The annual Relay For Life will be held June 12 and 13 at the Neosho High School track. Headlining entertainment for the 12-hour overnight event this year are local favorites Al Brumley, Jr., and Duke Mason.
Meanwhile, a charity trying to start a no-kill animal shelter in Neosho also had a successful garage sale on Saturday. Faithful Friends Animal Advocates raised approximately $1,200 toward establishing the shelter on a tract of land located on Missouri Highway 86 west of Neosho that was recently donated to the group.
“We are just thrilled,” said Karol Mayer, vice president of the group. “There were no big ticket items in our sale. We are very fortunate and very blessed. We made around $1,200 and that’s a solid base, considering we had nothing when we started.”
Mayer said hundreds of people turned out to the organization’s sale, held in the parking lot of Neosho’s First Presbyterian Church. An area motorcycle club, the Gold Wing Road Riders Association, grilled hot-dogs and hamburgers for the event, splitting the proceeds between the group and the Christmas Elf program, which provides Christmas presents to area nursing home residents.
Faithful Friends holds a public meeting at 7 p.m. the first Monday of each month at First Presbyterian Church in Neosho. Group President Leanne Williams told the Daily News in an earlier interview that community-wide meetings are currently in the planning stages.
For more information on the group, or to help, please call Williams at 389-5620 or Mayer at 451-5468 or write to Williams at 415 W. McCord, Neosho, 64850.
Another organization raising funds during he city-wide garage sale was the Friends of the Neosho / Newton County Library. The Friends group held a used book sale in the parking area immediately north of the library on Spring Street, selling paperbacks for a quarter each and hardback books for $1. On Saturday, the group raised $260.
“I couldn’t believe it!” exclaimed Bonnie Derryberry, a Friends member. “We got to counting the money, and I thought ‘whoa!’ I was very pleased. There were a lot of empty boxes left over when we packed everything back up. We were all well pleased and it was worth the time.”
Neosho, Mo. —
