I had the honor and privilege of attending the volunteers’ dinner, during which the grants from the proceeds of the 2023 sale were awarded. It was a lovely night, and I met the sales chairs and many volunteers who made this sale happen. It takes months for this sale to come together, and it is a well-oiled machine led by Linda Pierpont, Mary Mielke, and Cathy Hansen. The chairs are hands-on; running this sale takes many volunteers and even more volunteer hours. There are thousands of pieces of clothing to be inspected and price tagged (they tag on the seams so as not to hurt the integrity of the garments – impressive). Everyone at St. Barnabas strongly believes in reducing, reusing, and recycling, and it was demonstrated at the dinner by some of the volunteers who proudly displayed the number of thrifted garments they wore. I believe the winner was six pieces, which included accessories—well done.

Since the start of the sale 29 years ago, over one million dollars in grants have been given to charities. A parishioner must sponsor all grant requests, and the charity must be a 501C3 to be eligible for the grants. In her first year on the grants committee, Jeannie Edler told me how excited she was to be a part of this and see how much these grant awards have a direct community impact.

Two of the grant recipients were there to talk about how these grants helped their charities. Heather Thomas, an EMT on the Irvington Volunteer Ambulance Corps board, spoke about how their grant made it possible to purchase a Toughbook laptop, which is used on all calls for patient and other critical information, cutting reporting time significantly. Pamela Grunstein from the Bulldog Family Fund also spoke. Since 2015, the Bulldog Family Fund has supported children and families who qualify for free or reduced lunch, food, clothing, school supplies, field trip fees, summer camp fees, and summer school tuition.

Some other grant recipients included Friends of the Irvington Library, which provides music and storytelling for the neurodiverse population. Neighborhood House provides social and wellness programs for the senior population. The Sharing Shelf provides clothing packs for children in Westchester who are clothing insecure. This is just a tiny fraction of the charities the Church of St Barnabas has helped this year with their grants. The Summer and November Sales continue to help others even after the sale by donating unsold clothes to Career Closet, The Sharing Shelf, shelters, and thrift shops.

The 2024 Summer Clothing Sale is Thursday, June 27, 1-2 pm & 5-7 pm; Friday, June 28, 10-2 pm; and Saturday, June 29, 10-2 pm.  You can help the Church of St. Barnabas by donating your summer and vintage clothing, shoes, and accessories for women and men.

Donation Information is as follows:

* Donate on  June 8, from 12 to 2 pm, when volunteers will be on-site to give you a Donor’s Shopping Pass, which allows you to shop a day early from the general public.

* Donate when the office is staffed Monday-Friday from 10 am – 2:00 pm

* Call the office at 914-591-8194 to set up an alternate donation time

* Leave donations outside, weather permitting

Donations will not be accepted after Friday, June 14. 

This is the one sale that you should not miss!

Until next time, Happy Thrifting!!