Photos: Garage Sales Benefit Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure

Several Berkley residents transformed the St. John Woods neighborhood garage sale this weekend into an opportunity to raise funds for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure, an annual event that benefits breast cancer research.

Each 3-Day participant must contribute at least $2,300, a hefty sum that has inspired some creative fundraising.

Team Save the Judge's Jugs, for example, plans to contribute 100 percent of the proceeds from its garage sale on Wakefield to the cause. Members Libby Turpin, Stacey Palmer and Lynn Gorcyca-Trout opened for business Friday and sweated through a steamy Saturday selling household items, rain barrels and even hot dogs fresh off the grill.

While all three women have been touched in some way by cancer and have participated in the 3-Day in the past, this year's Aug. 12-14 event holds a special significance for them— they will be walking in honor of their friend Oakland County Circuit Judge Lisa Gorcyca, who is battling the disease.

"She's got a great attitude," sister-in-law Gorcyca-Trout said of the judge, who has endured surgery, chemotherapy and will undergo radiation. "She never complains."

The cause is a serious one: "Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, accounting for nearly 1 in 4 cancers diagnosed in U.S. women," according to the American Cancer Society.

But, team Save the Judge's Jugs has found a way to maintain a positive spirit. The women decorated their garage sale signs with pink feather boas, festooned the yard with "jugs," and – more importantly – connected with shoppers whose families or selves have experienced cancer, several of whom thanked the team members for their efforts.

Turpin said that sense of unity also spills over into the 3-Day, during which participants set up a pink "tent city" where they sleep each night.

"It's a sisterhood," she said. "It's like camping with all of your best friends. The stories you share are great."

Over on Cumberland, Carol Boman, whose lawn sported a giant 3-Day banner, agreed that the event is about community.

"We appreciate everybody's support," she said. "Even when we're out there, all the 'walker stalkers,' as we call them. We appreciate them."

'Walker stalkers' are people who line the 3-Day route to cheer along participants such as Boman, who said she's used the St. John Woods garage sale to raise funds for the event for the past 5 or 6 years; this will be her eighth year doing the Susan G. Komen event.

"This (garage sale) has always been really beneficial," she said. "People have been really supportive."

Click here if you would like to contribute to Boman or click here if you would like to donate to Save the Judge's Jugs. Click here to learn more about breast cancer and breast health.