Family Promise holding community yard sale in June

WASILLA — Family Promise Mat-Su is holding a community yard sale June 18 and June 19 at their main office.

The community is invited to donate items that Family Promise Mat-Su can feature during the yard sale. Proceeds from this event will fuel their efforts supporting local families in need. Acceptable items range from clothing to furniture, basically anything that would normally be sold at a garage or yard sale.

“Pretty much anything that you think that somebody would need in their house,” Family Promise Mat-Su Executive Director Ginger Bear said.

According to Bear, Family Promise will start accepting donations about a week before the yard sale. She said that community members interested in donating items to the sale are encouraged to take advantage of the changing of the seasons and keep the yard sale in mind as they clean their houses, noting that anyone interested in volunteering during the event is also welcome to participate.

“So, they can start saving up their spring cleaning stuff. If they would hold onto it until that week, we’ll have plenty of helpers to help sort through all that stuff,” Bear said.

During a normal summer, Family Promise Mat-Su joins chapters across the nation for the annual Cardboard City community fundraiser that supports local efforts and raises awareness for the challenges homeless families face on a daily basis.

During the event, participants decorate cardboard boxes or decorate their vehicles while enjoying a number of outdoor activities as a fun way for families to bond while supporting the work being done to support other families that are less fortunate. Participants are also encouraged to camp outside in their makeshift shelters.

Last summer, Family Promise Mat-Su hosted a virtual Cardboard City event due to COVID-19. Bear said they will not be holding a Cardboard City this year, instead opting to join the national office’s Night Without a Bed, a new and similar event created as a response to the pandemic in June 2020.

Bear said they will participate in Night Without a Bed during the same weekend as the yard sale.

Bear noted that they’re also accepting donations for an online auction that’s intended to run in conjunction with the yard sale, but it may turn into an ongoing occurrence.

Family Promise Mat-Su has been working around the clock to support local families in need throughout the pandemic.

“We’re very busy actually, but that’s a good thing. People need help and we’re able to help. So, I’m feeling pretty blessed that we are able to continue doing services,” Bear said.

Bear said that Family Promise Mat-Su is awaiting board approval to add an additional building or add to their existing office to help them expand their overall operations and house more families that are on the verge of homelessness. She said they can currently house two families at a time with their current resources.

“We know we can handle six,” Bear said. “We want to grow with the community. The community’s need for housing homeless families keeps growing with the regular population.

For more information about Family Promise Mat-Su, call 907-357-6160, visit familypromisematsu.org, or visit their official Facebook page.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com