Four years ago, in the fall of 2015, we had our first clothing sale. We were all trying to think of ways to raise funds for building Copper Ridge Conference Centre. At that time, my mother-in-law happened to buy four sturdy clothing racks. I thought to myself…these would be perfect for a clothing sale! At the same time, Pope Francis, in his encyclical Laudato Si, was urging us against being a “throwaway culture.” So why not help women get rid of unused clothing, free up closet space, and sell their no longer needed items to contribute to a good cause?
Many ladies were happy to donate slightly used clothing. We soon filled up the racks, had a two day sale, and raised almost $3000! It was a lot of work but four years later we decided to do it again and “Passion for Fashion” was reborn. Phase 2 took place on September 20th and 21st. This time we had more clothes and more organizational work to do. Many friends came to our aid. First of all a friend offered his warehouse to us for the month of September, then more came to help sort and set up. They brought more clothing racks, tables and mirrors, setting to work with their organizing and decorating skills. Another couple of friends decided to take care of “manning the till,” recording sales in their computer in a very professional manner.
This year September brought a lot of rain! The forecast for the sale days was nothing but rain so I started praying. We didn’t want shoppers to get discouraged by wet weather. Lo and behold, the sun came out the first day of the sale… after at least a week of non-stop rain. It stayed dry for the second day until the sale finished and we had gone home!
Shoppers left very happy with their bargains, and a few even offered more than was asked for. This year we raised just over $3,000 for Copper Ridge.
