Add a Dash of Charity to Your Spring Cleaning

Unwanted items cluttering up your home? Add a dash of charity to your spring cleaning by donating your unused stuff to It Takes A Village, a nonprofit that helps seniors and disabled residents stay in their homes. 

It Takes A Village—started in Moorestown almost two years ago by residents Irv and Trudi Herman—will hold a yard sale this weekend, selling donated items, with all proceeds going to the group's services.

Geri Chark Frankel, who handles publicity for the nonprofit, said they believe the yard sale is "going to be successful enough to make it our signature fundraiser."

With more than 20 families having already donated items, Frankel said the selection at the yard sale will be wide-ranging, including small furnishings, clothes, sports memorabilia, books, games, toys and more. 

"When you go to a multi-family yard sale, you get maybe six or eight families," she said. "Here, you're getting 20 families ... We're trying to make this more than just a typical yard sale."

Besides the obvious monetary value, the yard-sale-as-fundraiser concept appealed to the members of It Takes A Village because it "brings the focus to the home, being part of a community," which is what the group is all about, Frankel said. "It all just kind of made sense."

It Takes A Village Moorestown is one of more than 55 Villages operating across the country, with 100 more in the process of forming, according to Frankel. Among the services the group provides (free of charge) are:

• Shopping for groceries
• Running errands
• Visiting and providing companionship for clients and their families
• Phoning clients for a chat
• Driving clients to and from doctors and rehab appointments

The yard sale will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, at 204 and 208 Paul Drive, Moorestown. Baked goods will also be available for purchase at an adjoining bake sale.

Frankel said they're still accepting items for the yard sale and will continue to take them up until Saturday morning. 

"It's a very easy way to support a ... grassroots organization," she said.

The raindate(s) for the yard sale are Saturday and Sunday, April 20 and 21.

To volunteer/donate/request services/learn more, contact Trudi and Irv Herman, at 856-396-5783 or ItTakesAVillageNJ@gmail.com, or visit the group's website at www.itavnj.org.

The group meets monthly at the Moorestown Library. Its next meeting is at 7 p.m., May 7, with guest speaker Steve Stein from Auricle Hearing Aid Center in Cinnaminson. Stein will answer questions about hearing loss and the latest in hearing aids. Guest speaker Carole Rocco from Visiting Nurses of Moorestown will drop in at the June 4 meeting to talk about healthy living.