Due to the impact of the Cannon River flooding over its banks, The Lighten Up! Garage Sale has been postponed. The sale will take place at a later date, which we will post here and on our Facebook and Twitter feeds.
Carleton College’s Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE) will host its annual Lighten Up! Garage Sale on Friday, June 20 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, June 21 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the West Gym on the Carleton campus. The popular annual sale converts the unwanted year-end possessions of Carleton students into bargains for local residents and cash for local charities. The sale is held every year during Carleton’s reunion weekend and the CCCE advises shoppers to shop early and often!
Each year, Carleton's Center for Community and Civic Engagement partners with three local non-profit organizations to organize the Lighten Up! Garage Sale. At the end of each academic year, sites are set up across campus to collect unwanted items from students as they prepare to move out of the residence halls. A staggering amount of material is collected each year and although the sale provides a way to reuse these items instead of sending them to the landfill, it is also a sobering reminder of how much we consume.
As in previous years, the West Gym will be filled with the donated belongings of Carleton’s student body. Items on sale include clothing (including winter gear), books, sporting goods, household items, furniture, bedding, electronics and much more.
Proceeds from the sale are typically split between three Northfield nonprofits: Project Friendship, which teams up with Carleton and St. Olaf students to offer mentoring programs for local youth; The Key (Northfield Union of Youth), a nonprofit youth center run by young people; and the Northfield Area Special Olympics, which offers opportunities for disabled people to get involved in sports. Last year’s Lighten Up! Garage Sale raised over $30,000 for the three nonprofits.
For more information regarding the event, contact Kelly Scheuerman at (507) 222- 7019. The West Gym is located off Highway 19 East on the Carleton College campus in Northfield.