Garage sale still on so you can shop for a good cause despite coronavirus fears

Here’s one weekend event that won’t be canceled and allows you to thrift shop at a social distance, all while giving back.

This Lee County garage sale donates all of its proceeds to help local families in need.

As you drive along Palm Beach Boulevard, a white sign invites you to come inside Saint Vincent De Paul Church and help local families by thrift shopping.

“Because everything goes to charity,” said Sharon Coburn, the chair of the sale. “We categorize everything so it’s easy to find. There’s a linen department, household department, bicycles, furniture, home goods, lots of clothing.”

The items are all donated by the Verandah gated community just up the street where Leslie Liddle had the idea for giving back 12 years ago.

“I started the sale back in 2008. I said, ‘charity garage sale, community-wide,'” she said. “I have the privilege of choosing where we put the money that comes from this and for me, it’s about children, local children, and a place where the dollars will make a difference.”

This year’s community garage sale, once again, benefits “Blessings in a Backpack.”

“And because of this sale, this gated community has been able to feed over 30,000 meals for over 200 children, so every year, when the sale gets bigger like it does this year, you just know that we’re gonna be able to feed more kids,” said Blessing in a Backpack Executive Director Cecilia St. Arnold. “Every, single item that goes to charity, if we don’t sell it on Saturday afternoon, there are local charities who come and pick everything up.”

So every item here represents someone in Southwest Florida getting support.

“Come and shop for a cause,” St. Arnold said.

The garage sale runs through Saturday at Saint Vincent De Paul Church off of Palm Beach Boulevard. Their goal is to raise $20,000 for charity by the end of the sale.