Smiling volunteers prepare for return from St. James Variety Sale in Stratford

While it’s been three years since the St. James Anglican Church Women hosted their annual variety sale fundraiser, its return later this week is bringing the same fun, excitement and camaraderie among its volunteers as it has for the past half-century.

The returning volunteers, who have helped organize donations of household items, electronics, jewelry, treasures, books, linens and children’s items for decades, filled the halls of St. James Anglican Church with smiles and laughter Monday as they worked together to get everything done before the sale officially begins Thursday at 7 pm

“It’s been three years since we’ve done this and we’re aging … so I sent out this email and I said, ‘Rev, your engines, ladies, we’re going to do a sale this year. … The very first email I get comes from (an) 88-year-old (volunteer) who says, ‘I’ll work the sale, but I need a chair.’ That’s the kind of people I have,” Anglican Church Women president Karen Haslam said.

“On Sunday, a 94-year-old (volunteer) says, ‘I’ll be in the jewelry department,’ and there she is in the jewelry department. It’s those kinds of stories that makes us who we are, and that’s what the sale is about.”

Haslam says the St. James Variety Sale has always been as much about raising money to support the church and its philanthropic endeavors in the Stratford community as it is about bringing people together to socialize and have a bit of fun while working together to sell gently used items at an extremely affordable price.

“Our money goes into passes for children at the pool through the Children’s Aid Society. We support the Connection Center over at St. Paul’s (church). We donate to the music festival. Our money goes back to the community from the (Anglican Church Women) and then we also support the church and the outreach we do here – we have a food bank here. We are part of the group of Anglican Churches in Stratford doing good work,” said Haslam, noting the money is also going to support the establishment of a regular English conversation group for newcomers from Sudan and other places around the world.

“We provide a lot of things for families who don’t have the money to go out and buy some of these fancy things,” Haslam added. “Poverty is getting higher in levels, the class system is becoming more and more separated. … The people in the community come because they need it, they want it, they like it. I know that there will be a lineup here at 6:30 pm and we don’t open until 7 pm”

The sale officially begins with First Choice Night from 7 pm to 9:30 pm Thursday, when those who come out will have their first pick at the lot. On Friday, the sale will continue with a Super Sale from 11 am to 2 pm, when everything will be half price, and then bargain hunters can return for one last kick at the can from 7 pm to 8 pm that evening for Toonie-a -Tote Hour, when shoppers can purchase a bag for $2 and stuff it with anything and everything that will fit.

Once the sale ends, volunteers will pack up everything that’s left and load it up for delivery to Value Village in Stratford, where they will sell it through Value Village’s FUNDrive program for 20 cents per pound.

“We’re dedicated to making this dirty work,” Haslam said. “Will it be like this next year? Maybe not. We’ll do something, but it might not be the two days. We felt strongly enough about it that it would come back to the community in a big way this year and do it at least one more time.”

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