Schools of Africa Benefit Yard Sale in Billings, MT
Recently I read an article explaining that Mother Moon, the Mother of Peace, gave substantial financial aid to several countries struggling to cope with extreme hardships brought on by the coronavirus. My heart was moved by her compassion and gifts, and by her concern for the welfare of destitute families far, far away. I wanted to do something here, in Billings, Montana, that could bring hope to children and their families in African nations and to lift up people in Billings who donated their goods, their time and their resources to benefit the Schools of Africa, a long-term project of WFWP. Thus, WFWP Montana decided to organize a two-day yard sale on July 17th and 18th, taking care to follow social distancing guidelines. This benefit event was the way to weld an offering of hope and compassion into a larger chain of caring begun by the Mother of Peace, WFWP Co-Founder Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon.
Last year, the Billings, Montana chapter of WFWP had sponsored a Schools of Africa (SOA) Yard Sale in mid-July. That made it somewhat easier to organize this summer, despite the pandemic that has made caution, masks and more frequent hand-washing essential. I did wonder in the months, weeks and days leading up to the SOA Yard Sale whether customers would respond to ads volunteers posted online and signs they put out the night before the sale started. I was reassured early Friday morning as we began to set up tables and arrange items. Cars pulled up, shoppers got out and friends, neighbors and new shoppers as well as repeat SOA Yard Sale shoppers looked around in anticipation, and gave generous support!
All of the volunteers at the yard sale wore masks and carefully used social distancing so as not to endanger those who came to find what many call ‘hidden treasures’ — there are people from all economic strata who love the lure of yard sales. Some shoppers wore masks, although others did not wear them.
As always, when I put possible donation prices on the yard sale treasures, there are a few unique items and I think: “Who is the person who will come to buy this?” Then, I have to wait and see who that person is. This year, I wondered about some Gene Autry VHS tapes (America’s well-known singing cowboy of the 1950s), a spiffy toy John Deere loader and a mystical Kabbalah game. I was delighted to sell the tapes to an early bird customer who was dressed like Gene Autry, accept a bargain bid from a grandfather for the toy, and present the game to our close neighbor.
The Leary family
At the end of the yard sale on Saturday evening, several surprise guests from the East Coast came to visit friends in Billings and decided to see how our Schools of Africa Benefit Yard Sale was doing. The Leary family helped put leftover yard sale items away and donated to SOA, too. It’s great we had a chance to meet them and chat when they came and explored the Wild West, creating family memories. Montana is referred to as “The Last Best Place” (in America) and also “Big Sky Country”, and its pristine mountain streams and rivers wait to be rediscovered by visitors.
The 2020 WFWP Montana Schools of Africa Benefit Yard Sale was a great success! We raised a total of $885, which was about $200 more than last year’s yard sale. It will help many children and families in eight African countries as well as WFWP members to work with a larger vision. WFWP in Billings will continue to reach out to families here who are in need. From those who donated yard sale treasures to people who bought them and donated money to the volunteers, there was a rewarding experience and a reminder to Live for the Sake of Others for each person helping to weld this chain of caring and peace!