News

Children’s Consignment Sale benefits Christian Help

MORGANTOWN — All week volunteers were busy setting up for the Children’s Consignment Sale of Morgantown, which kicked off Sept. 20 at the West Virginia National Guard Morgantown Readiness Center. Kellen Falkenstine said set-up actually started Sunday, meaning a lot of man hours are required to get the sale going. It runs through Saturday.
“We have a lot of volunteers, all our consigners volunteer as well, so everybody volunteers quite a bit to make this happen,” she said.
The items come from people who register as consigners and tag and enter their belongings online. These items are then pulled together to sell at one location. Items that are left over when the sale is finished are donated to Christian Help.
The consigners receive a percentage of the sales, and Christian Help receives the rest. Consigners receive the majority of the sales, but Falkenstine said if they volunteer their time, they can receive more. About 25 volunteers will make sure everything runs smoothly over the course of the next few days.
The the sale happens twice a year — once in the spring and fall. Falkenstine said it’s been running for at least eight years and was started at the old Armory, then moved to the Mountaineer Mall and has been happening at the Readiness Center for about four years now.
The amount of clothing, toys and other children’s items has grown every year, she added. Rows of clothing and tables of toys were being organized by volunteers Wednesday.
Prices vary, as consigners set the costs. About 60 percent of the inventory will be sold, if not more, Falkenstine said.
“It’s a one-stop shop where consigners are selling things they don’t need any more,” she said. “We’re able to buy things that we do need. You’re kind of doing a massive switch in getting the things out, because kids outgrow things really quickly.”
The sale continues from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sept. 21 and 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Sept. 22, when items will be marked at half price.