Saturday’s Haul Breaks Record!

Last Saturday was rocking at the at the Big Flea Shop N Drop. Our store manager Cynthia Webster reports record sales and strong donations. You can see a small fraction of our items below.

Even with all this support, we still need donations! Our goal is to raise $17,000 so far we’re at $6,250. If we’re going to reach it, we need furniture, household items, sporting equipment and kids gear. And plenty of it.

To donate your items, please visit our Shop N Drop location any Saturday in April from 2-4pm. We’re located at 719 N St. Asaph Street near Trader Joe’s. We’ll also pick up your stuff, just contact Cynthia Webster at websterbigflea@gmail.com.

New Neighbors Donate Canoe and Kayak!

Someone will be paddling in style, thanks to the generous donation of an Old Town canoe and a kayak to the Mount Vernon Community School PTA’s Big Flea. The donation comes from a family whose only tie to MVCS is a desire to help a local school.

Cathy Burke and her husband Kevin moved to Alexandria only in September, relocating from King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Their two children, now in college, attended public schools. “We believe in the value of public education to local communities and society in general,” says Cathy.

When their children were younger, the Burkes often brought the watercraft with them on family camping trips along the Schuykill River in Valley Forge National Historic Park. Cathy says she and her husband and kids had fun times with their canoe and kayak, but that they hadn’t used them in more than a year. “Seeing them idle in the garage was often a bittersweet reminder of how quickly our children grew up.”

The Burkes decided to donate the canoe and kayak to a worthy cause, but first they had to choose a charity. They first learned of the Big Flea when their neighbor’s house was being used as a drop-off point for donations. But it wasn’t until later that Cathy noticed a Big Flea announcement on a neighborhood listserv, offering pickups for large donations.

She thought about her old canoe and kayak. She liked the idea of helping her neighborhood school, and she loved the convenience of simply e-mailing websterbigflea@gmail.com to arrange for someone to pick up her items. She had found her worthy cause.

The sale of the Burkes’ canoe and kayak, along with other Big Flea proceeds, will allow the MVCS PTA to continue supporting student field trips, after-school clubs, classroom projects, and other school activities.

“We’re glad we could help to supplement and enrich the programs at the local elementary school in our new neighborhood” by donating the items, says Burke. “We hope that the new owner enjoys using them as much as we did.”

Check Out Our Junque!!! Saturday’s Haul.

Great news!  We sold $1,051 worth of merchandise on Saturday, March 26!  This brings our grand total of sales to more than $5,000!  Our 2011 fundraising goal is $17,138 so we still have a long way to go!

We definitely need more donations!!!  We especially need furniture, kids/baby gear (strollers) and other “big ticket” items.  To donate your items, please visit our Shop N Drop location any Saturday in April from 2-4pm.  We’re located at 719 N St. Asaph Street near Trader Joe’s.  We’ll also pick up your stuff, just contact Cynthia Webster at websterbigflea@gmail.com.

And make sure to visit our Shop N Drop location where you can purchase any of the items we have for sale.  Many thanks for your ongoing support!

We Sold a Rare CD Single for $300!!!

The MV Big Flea is happy to report that is has sold a rare promotional CD single for $300.  The CD single was donated by Mount Vernon Community School Parents Mike and Paige Grainger.

The CD single is by  Pearl Jam and was released in 1992 before they hit the big time.  The CD was produced in extremely small quantities and is considered extremely rare by collectors of the band’s material.

It was sold to a Pearl Jam collector in the United Kingdom who stated that he was “exceptionally keen to add this to my collection.”  Click here to see the buyer’s extensive collection of Pearl Jam material.

I am wondering how Mike and Paige are going to react to this sale.  My guess is that they had no idea that a rare CD was lurking among the 350 compact discs they generously donated to the Big Flea.  Also included in the lot was a rare promotional disc by the band XTC that we are currently selling on eBay.

What do you have lurking about in your attic??  Even if you think it’s junk, please consider donating it to the MV Big Flea and helping to fund education and enrichment programs for Alexandria city public school students.