Shoppers will be heading to the corner of Weir and Forest avenues as the Grenville Baker Boys & Girls Club opens its 49th clothing sale on Friday, Oct. 2. Donors Day is on Thursday, Oct. 1, when those generous people are invited to be the first to view the offerings. The next day the community is invited in, but people have been talking about the sale since Monday, Aug. 3, at the first meeting of the volunteer crew that makes the event possible.
Eileen Duffy is in charge of the volunteers and has been since 2009.
“When working, I couldn’t do as much, but since I retired in 2005 I can do more,” said Duffy. “I was a math teacher and wrote a book on teaching math. You won’t find my name on it, a national company bought it up. I did staff development, but then had more time to travel.”
She said the clothing sale has grown tremendously and this year she has a new group of volunteers. It takes about 40 to do the work. Some come every day, but others when they can.
“Everyone is welcome,” said Duffy. “If you wear clothes, you can volunteer. You have enough experience.”
That includes the men who volunteer. Dorothy Titus is a longtime volunteer and her husband Bill has come in recent years.
“What is amazing is their commitment to the sale,” said Duffy. “It is tedious work, with tens of thousands of pieces of clothing to process. One of our new volunteers, Bellin, is good at ironing and she told me why she volunteers. She said, ‘I feel I’m doing good work. I can make a contribution.’ It’s nice to write a check, but the volunteers really make it happen.”
On Saturday, Sept. 19, the last morning for donations to arrive, Jackie Cunha, Elise Mahou, Alice Armstrong, Mary Jo Rydzewski, Marcy Meyer, Dolly Dahringer, Deb Fierro, Bhabe Rupnarine, Connie Glowatz, Duffy (in charge of the volunteers) and Rita Piechucki were at work unpacking, sorting, folding and hanging the donations. It was the same day as a fair was being held for the members on their field. There were blow-up amusements for the kids and at noon, the volunteers were invited to have lunch in the tent outside.
This was the first year Deb Fierro was volunteering. She just saw her son Michael go off to college at the University of Rhode Island. Her daughter already graduated from college and is working in the wedding design industry and living in Manhattan.
“She’s financially independent now,” said Fierro, which she said is a blessing since she lost her husband to cancer when the children were in middle school. She was delighted to have volunteering at the clothing sale on her calendar as she starts a new chapter of her life.
This was the first year, too, for Kassie Miller and she was assigned the teen table.
“The most fun is seeing Eileen standing on a chair, blowing a whistle to get the attention of the volunteers,” she said.
Miller knows Duffy from the Locust Valley Garden Club, of which many volunteers are from. That includes Titus, who Miller said works the entire day in spite of her senior citizen status.
“It is hard work,” said Titus. “Donations ended on Saturday, Sept. 19, and then we will spend the rest of the month getting everything sorted, tagged and priced and then arranged for the grand opening in October. Thursday, the first, is only for donors and the public comes in on Friday, Oct. 2. I hope we do as well as in the past as we are doing it at a different time of year. Instead of the spring, we hope people will find us in the fall.”
She added, “It’s a mammoth job.”
Marcy Meyer has been volunteering for the clothing sale for about 10 years. On Thursday, Sept. 24, she said, “It’s starting to get pulled together, it is more organized. Today I got all the pants categorized by sizes and put them out on four tables covered with tablecloths, ready to go. Everything will be in its own place.”
As you can imagine, there is a great deal of work standing and lifting merchandise as it is priced and sorted. There is always a need for more volunteers. People work different hours, when they can.
“People have a life. And it’s tough. I was there this afternoon for three and a half hours and that’s my limit,” said Meyer. “Kassie was there for five hours straight. I had a girl working with me for a week, but her back started killing her. It’s stressful work. Eileen has a few extra-good ones, but the old-timers have died out or can’t come anymore.
“And we have so much stuff. There is a men’s tent in the back in the field with their clothes. It is incredible. If you are a shopper you are in heaven. It’s a hunt if you like that.”
But the prices will reward your work. The final two days are set for liquidation, which makes it easier than ever to find bargains.
The club does thank the volunteers. On Friday morning, from 8 to 9:30 a.m. they can pick five items, not costing more than $200, to buy at half price. It is a small benefit for all their hard work, but the time is limited. “It is meant to be for charity for the club.”
But the volunteers can shop during the sale days if they take off their tags. They will be dressed in white so that they stand out.
This year, besides the date, the location has changed. The sale will be held downstairs in the bigger gymnasium with its entrance on Forest Avenue. There is an elevator for handicap access.
“One lady comes in a wheelchair and buys an awful lot of stuff. Her daughters push her around. She should be coming back again,” said Meyer.
The clothing sale is one of the club’s largest fundraisers. The sale brings together the generosity and efforts of hundreds of donors and volunteers. With more than 6,000- square-feet of store space and eight departments, there is something for everyone. Shoppers can expect gently used or brand new items and discount deals daily.
Prices get lowered toward the middle and the end of the sale.
“Eileen sees what is being sold or not and she says, ‘The blouses are half price.’ She’ll do that kind of thing,” added Meyer.
Duffy keeps things flowing.
“It’s a big job and I am sure she is exhausted already, but she seems to thrive on solving all the problems. We need people like that,” said Meyer.
The dedication of Grenville Baker Boys Club took place on Dec. 7, 1950 in memory of Mrs. George F. Baker Jr.’s son, Grenville, a decorated Air Force Captain and Harvard graduate who met an untimely death in 1949.
Funds raised from the annual clothing sale help support the club’s mission to inspire and enable all young people to realize their potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens and community leaders of tomorrow.
The sale hours are: Thursday Oct. 1, Donor Day (they receive a donation pass) from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 2, the sale goes public, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 3, 10 a.m, to 3 p.m.; Sunday Oct. 4, noon to 4 p.m.; Monday, Oct. 5, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Tuesday, Oct. 6, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Wednesday, Oct. 7, liquidation, noon to 8 p.m.; and Thursday, Oct. 8, liquidation noon to 8 p.m.
For more information about the club, call 516-759-5437 and for information about programs call 516-676-1460.
