Yard Sale raises $4000! (And some unexpected graces)

The May 25, 2010 Pike Animal Shelter Yard Sale raised $4000!! What a great step in fundraising to build a new shelter. Thank you to every volunteer! This was not an easy job, and the tremendous result is a testimony to a lot of planning, hard work, sweat and muscle.

In addition to the funds raised for a good cause, there were some special sales during the day on Saturday that were the kind unexpected graces we find when we are working on this good cause:

• An 18-year old girl who is in foster care is now set up with a nice love seat, desk, chair, and two end tables so she can begin independent living. Her foster mother chose these items to help her get started on her own, and volunteers selected some sheets, blankets and kitchen items to help her also. We had a chance to meet two younger foster children, too, who touched our hearts with their sweet spirits.
• A local minister who travels to Cuba on missions of music and faith will be taking his Cuban friends a trombone and a trumpet on his next trip. His Cuban friends play instruments held together with tape and wire, so the great purchases he and his wife made will soon be bringing music and the gospel to Cuba.
• A commercial food scale donated by the family of a restaurant owner who passed away was purchased by a volunteer for a horse rescue group. She will use the scale to weigh supplements and medicines for horses she is rehabilitating.

On this day after the yard sale, we volunteers are nursing sore backs, sunburns and mosquito bites, but our salve is knowing we took a big step in helping the animals, we strengthened our friendships, and we found some unexpected graces along the way.