Brandon Twp – The Ortonville Community Emergency Fund shelves are bare and staff is asking for help to fill them up.
The weekend of Septemberfest, starting at 9 a.m. Sept. 23, 24, and 25, OCEF will hold a rummage sale at St. Anne Church, 825 S. Ortonville Road. Receipts for tax purposes will be available.
‘This is usually a low time for OCEF and that’s fine, but we are getting to a desperate situation,? said Karyn Milligan, OCEF boardmember. ‘This year OCEF helped more local families than usual.?
OCEF is asking for volunteers to help set up the sale and for donations of gently used furniture, toys, books, sporting goods, or appliances.
No clothes, items in disrepair, large appliances, or old mattresses will be accepted.
‘We are looking for good stuff like collectibles, clean reusable because there are a lot of treasure hunters out there,? said Sue Roberts of OCEF, who says she has a good feeling about the community’s spirit for donating to OCEF.
‘From July through October we get very few donations, but this community is great,? Roberts said.
Roberts added that 100 percent of the profits from the rummage sale will benefit the OCEF pantry and families in need, locally. Items that were not sold will be donated to other charities.
OCEF is a clearing house, of sorts, for charitable event donations within the Brandon community. Money, food, and clothing are collected through various organizations and facilities and disbursed to families in need, locally.
Roberts says the rummage sale is scheduled to run from Thursday through Saturday but volunteers are needed to help unload items on Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and the days of the sale to set up.
‘Of course volunteers are needed during the sale, but we’ll take anything they can do whether it’s a half a day or half an hour,? she said.
Those wishing to volunteer for the OCEF rummage sale please contact Sue Roberts at (248) 625-9110 or Suzy at (248) 620-0176.