Great Stuff Collected @ February Donation Day!

The MV Big Flea held it’s February Donation Drop Off last Saturday and collected some great items for our April 24, 2010 extravaganza!

About a dozen families dropped off a range of items, from camping equipment and furniture to Bose electronics, a Pawley’s Island hammock, a kids’ art easel, modern art and some bitchin’ “Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em” robots.

Doug Rutherford wins the award for sheer volume. The Rutherfords are departing for a year-long trip abroad and leaving us all their junque.  Their donation included boxes of kids stuff, camping equipment, fishing rods, a workbench, small household items and more.

Barbara Fox brought us a great Crate and Barrel chair and coffee table; Lori Ludwig donated a trunkful of kids stuff; Terrance Taylor donated a nice children’s dresser; Chris and Jennifer Sorrels brought a Bose stereo system.  Other donors include Rusty O’Connor, Kim Sheridan, Jemmy Ramotowski, Newsha Dau and Linda Hahn.  Many thanks to you all!

Robert Morton, escorted by daughters Lily and Marian, brought a trunk of junk too.  He also waxed rhapsodic about the Big Flea’s new storage facility. “It’s a total man cave,” Robert quipped.  The facility, located at 1219 First Street in Alexandria, has more space than we can ever possibly use.

“With all this space,” said Big Flea spokesperson Joseph LaMountain, “we can spread out and sell a ton of items before the actual sale in April. So if you see something you like, or if you just want to come and browse, visit us any Saturday in March or April from 2-4pm. And don’t forget to bring some cash!”

Gentle Giants, Huge Hearts

Matt and Kiefer

Each year MV Big Flea volunteers collect donated items to sell at our spring event.  We keep them in storage for weeks and move them to the Mount Vernon Recreation Center the day before the big sale.

Given the huge volume of materials, and their priceless nature, we are extremely discriminating when selecting a moving company to assist us with this most important task.

While we take many things into consideration, our decision really boils down to how the prospective company answers one important question: “Will you do it for free?”

We’re extremely pleased to name Gentle Giant Moving Company the official moving company of the 2010 MV Big Flea.  The business, managed by Matt Packebusch and Kieffer Karim, is located in Washington, DC and Lorton, VA and have been in business for nearly 30 years.

“We greatly appreciate their willingness to help us on this important charity event,” said MV Big Flea spokesperson Joseph LaMountain.  “Moving mountains of material isn’t an easy task.  Thanks to Matt and Kieffer’s generosity, getting all our junque to the MV Rec Center won’t be hard on our wallets either.”

If you’re in need of a moving company, please contact Matt or Kieffer toll-free at (800) GIANT-MEN or via email at  virginia@gentlegiant.com.

My Sweet Cans…FOR SALE

In the 1970s there was a beer can collecting craze and as a red-blooded American boy, I got hooked.

So did my fellow MV Community School parent Doug Rutherford.   And despite the greatest of odds, about 125 cans from those once-majestic collections have followed us into adulthood.

But now we’re done and the wives are rejoicing and the thought of them leaving our homes.  The two collections have been combined into one, and are now ready for release into the hands of a new generation.

Let’s be honest.  While this is a great collection, they’re not really worth a lot of dinero.  But we just know that there’s a guy out there who needs to decorate his man cave, or kid who will catch the bug like we dd 30 years ago.

There are about 125 cans, half of which are foreign and half from the United States.  Most are from late 70s or early 80s.  They’re dusty, a few are dinged up and others have humidity spots.  But in general they’re in pretty nice shape.

If you’re interested, please contact Joseph LaMountain at joseph.lamountain@gmail.com and make me an offer i can’t refuse.

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Drop Off Schedule Released!

The MV Big Flea is pleased to announce its Donation Drop Off schedule for 2010.

At these events, you can drop off your donations of gently used items to benefit the MV Big Flea and Alexandria public school students.

Drop-Off Days will take place from 2-4pm on Saturdays in March (6th, 13th, 20th and 27th) and April (3rd, 10th and 17th).  Items can also be dropped off at the MV Rec Center on Friday, April 23.

No donations will be accepted on the day of the MV Big Flea (April 24).

The Drop Off location is 1219 First St. in Alexandria, which is located near the McDonald’s on Route 1 just north of Old Town.  We owe a major debt of gratitude to MVCS parent Mike Porterfield, who orchestrated the storage donation through his realty business Tartan Properties, and to the donor, Ms. Eddy Cettina of Jaguar Properties.

Before dropping off items, please review our donation guide above.  We also ask that you place your donations in heavy cardboard boxes that can be closed and stacked.  Wine boxes or photocopy paper are ideal for this purpose.  Many thanks and we look forward to seeing you in March and April!