FUMC yard sale benefits missions locally, abroad

Published 6:01 pm Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Pickers, collectors and antique hunters will be grinning on Friday and Saturday. Featuring pieces donated by congregants at First United Methodist Church in Washington, the annual FUMC yard sale will have something for every taste.

A decades-long tradition, all proceeds from the sale will go right back into the community through the church’s missions. Benefiting organizations including Eagle’s Wings, Salvation Army, Literacy Volunteers of Beaufort County, Rose Haven and Zion Shelter and Kitchen; the event will also help the church continue its outreach abroad in Haiti.

“Every dollar, every dime, goes straight back into missions locally and internationally,” FUMC missions chairman Larry Long said. “It’s a way for our members to get rid of the stuff they no longer need or want. Then when the community buys those items, that money cycles back to the community by supporting those missions.”

The sale on Saturday is open and free to enter, while the Friday “Mission Madness” event is open to anyone who would like to become a “Friend for Missions” by purchasing a membership for $15 at the door or $25 for a team of two. The preview sale opens from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, and the main event runs from 6:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday.

“It’s a neat event,” Long said. “It fascinates me how old some of the stuff is that is donated. It’s pretty interesting stuff that you wouldn’t normally see at a yard sale … You never know what might show up there.”

Pieces available in this year’s sale include antique furniture, toys, bicycles, ladders, power equipment and tools. All items will be priced and for sale on Friday and Saturday.

“We wanted to provide an opportunity for pickers, collectors, hobbyists and antique hunters to come in and have a chance to purchase the items they may miss by coming on Saturday,” Long said in an email. “There are lots of sales on Saturday, and you have to choose, so we saw this as a good opportunity for the church to benefit missions and for the community to have a better opportunity to purchase these unique donated items.”