All aboard

When Shirley LeBlanc decided to have a garage sale a few weeks ago she thought that she would donate the money to the Brantford General Hospital Foundation. That was just the start.

“I have volunteered at the Brantford General for over three years now,” Shirley explained. “Because of all the great work everyone does there, I said why not hand the proceeds from the garage sale over to the Foundation to go towards the new MRI? It was something that I felt that I could do to give back to the Brantford General Hospital which has given us so much.”

Leading up to the big day, Shirley and her husband, Paul, cleaned their north-end home and arranged the treasures on the driveway. Their planning was complete, however, they were not prepared for what followed.

“People drove up to the house and most of them were bargain hunters- folks looking for things and paying as little as possible,” Shirley recalled. “But when they found that I was donating the money from the garage sale to the MRI for Brantford General they tossed in a few extra dollars,” Shirley said. “One lady purchased an item priced at a dollar and gave me five dollars for it, and said to give the rest to the Brantford General MRI.”

At the end of the day, Shirley and Paul sat down and counted the cash.

“We collected almost $1,200!” Shirley boasted. “I never thought for a minute that we would make that much money. Even the big lifelike poster of Blue Jays catcher Ernie Witt we placed at the front of the house to promote the sale sold. Everything sold for less than $25.”

But that is only the beginning.

When one of the LeBlanc's friends heard about the garage sale they came over with an item to add to the sale. Shirley and Paul accepted the contribution, however, they decided right away that they could not sell it for the few dollars that typical garage sale shoppers would pay.

“It is a 7-piece Thomas Kinkade Christmas Express train set,” Shirley said. “It comes from the Bradford Exchange and sold for $900. It is in mint condition- the only time it has ever been removed from the box was when I brought it up to the Foundation. People figure it is a collectors item worth who knows what?”

So who will be the lucky owner of this relic?

On September 22nd at the Sam Rizzo Annual Memorial Gala presented by the Rizzo Family at the Brantford Golf & Country Club, guests will dine and dance the night away and also bid on various items put up for auction. All the money raised will go to the MRI program that is expected to open for patients this fall at the Brantford General. The Thomas Kinkade Christmas Express train will likely be a popular item that will attract lots of attention from model train collectors.

Shirley is very pleased with the results of her weekend of work, saying, “It was a lot of fun. Our family, friends and neighbours all helped to make it a success. Turning garage sale treasures into funds to support Brantford General is something other people may wish to consider. You can have fun with your family and neighbours and also help raise funds for a very important cause that will help everyone throughout the community.”

Gary Chalk is Senior Executive Director- Public Affairs & Development for the Brant Community Healthcare System. Brantford General is a regional health centre providing primary, emergency and specialized services. The Willett, Paris, is a multi-service health centre providing urgent care, primary and community outreach programs.