Who doesn’t love a good garage sale? There are so many random knick-knacks to buy that will probably be lost in my room within a week, but that’s the fun of it! Our PRSSA chapter held a garage sale last weekend, September 27-28, to raise funds for our chapter’s professional development – more specifically to raise funds for some of our members to go to PRSSA National Conference in Boston this fall. Although pulling off a huge garage sale was no easy task, we raised almost $500!
When we first began to plan the garage sale towards the end of the summer, it seemed daunting, but our E-Board really came together to carry out a great garage sale. We received donations from faculty within the Communications Department and from several ONU students. By reaching out, we also received a majority of our donations from community members by offering to take their “left-overs” from previous garage sales. Cornerstone Church in Manteno graciously let us use their warehouse, which was right across the street from Manteno Elementary School where we strategically planned our dates to coincide with a huge soccer tournament that was bringing in families from all over the area. Because of the hundreds of families gathering right across the street, we also offered arts and crafts to tailor to kids as the adults shopped.
The week leading up to the garage sale consisted of some late nights for many of the E-Board members, including myself, but I believe it brought us closer as a board and ultimately left us with a sense of pride after coming together and raising so much money. 
With the help of a lot of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, we pulled off an awesome garage sale! Through doing a garage sale, our PRSSA Chapter got the opportunity to connect with the community while also raising awareness of our chapter.
Jessie Kilbride, the President of our chapter, said it best: “The purpose of our garage sale is to be family focused. We want to become more invested and involved in the community this year.”
I look forward to all the different ways we will get more involved in the community this school year, and I’m excited for the possibility of making our garage sale bigger and better next year!
Written by Emma Vandermark, Vice President