Over the years, I have visited many sales, where I get mesmerized by all the stalls and the material which is put up for display. I usually end up buying many things even when I know that the price is exorbitant and there is no scope for a good bargain – we either buy at the said price or not buy at all.
When I joined Bookworm, I came to know about the Bookworm Jumble Sale from colleagues. The sale is organized by Bookworm Trust to raise funds for our various programs. This evoked great curiosity in me. What is a Jumble Sale? How is it organized? What happens? My colleagues suggested that I visit our website and check out last year’s photos and blogs. After reading and seeing the photos, I was amazed to know that people donate materials that can be reused and recycled. And all these things are sold at the Sale.
The preparation for the Jumble Sale started 2-3 months before the actual sale date. We had a jumble meeting, where we were all divided into small teams to sort the donated material. We started with jumble promotions and we put up posters everywhere in order to get jumble materials. After seeing the posters and the social media posts, people started donating things like clothes, books, toys, bags, household items etc. These donations were either dropped off at the library or we went and collected it.
We first had to sort good and usable materials and tag them. This was a first for me in sorting and tagging jumble. Following this we packed the sorted materials in boxes. We gathered these boxes from various shops; some were donated to us, some we had to buy and some boxes come with the materials.
These boxes were neatly tagged and boxed – ready for the Sale. It was amazing to see people’s generosity and kindness come through the things they donated, their willingness to help us and the unending support.
When the D-day arrived, it was crazy and everybody was excited. There were people already on the ground waiting for the sale to open. We were given our volunteer badges and we were ready in our respective stalls. It was a really good experience for me as this time I was the seller and not a buyer. I was not only handling people with my fellow mates but also talking to people and managing the rush.
Apart from the people who came for the jumble sale, the Bookworm team also bought many things and we all were excited to get good deals from the sale. The experience of this one day was one of a kind. It was an adventurous day and I am glad that I got the opportunity to be part of it, and give my bit to raise some funds. This year’s jumble sale has just got over and we are still recovering but I am already looking forward to next year’s joyful and adventurous jumble.
