Fairfield Trojan Athletic Boosters to hold garage sale April 22

FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield Trojan Athletic Boosters are dipping their toes into the realm of garage sales this year, but they’re hoping the dip will be more like a cannonball.

The boosters are planning a huge garage sale for Saturday, April 22 where they will be raising money by selling donated sports apparel. The sale will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Fairfield High School, and is open to the public. It is being done in conjunction with the second “Walk for Nohema,” honoring former FHS Spanish teacher Nohema Graber, that will be held in Fairfield that same day.

The booster club has already started accepting donations for the sale, and residents can donate their clothing at three locations in Fairfield now through April 19: Libertyville Savings Bank at 2000 W. Jefferson Ave. from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday; and at Fairfield Middle School and Fairfield High School from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The middle and high school will not accept donations during the district’s spring break from March 20-24.

Jim Weaton, president of the Trojan Athletic Boosters, said his club is requested sports apparel of all kinds and of any team, whether it be Trojan T-shirts, Hawkeye hoodies, Cyclone sweatpants, or Panther pullovers. Apparel from professional sports teams is welcome, too.

Weaton said the boosters have never hosted a fundraising quite like this before, but everyone on the board is excited about it and is confident it will be a success.

“A couple of us were talking about all the apparel we purchase every year,” Weaton said. “The booster club offers apparel in the fall for football season, and in the winter for basketball season, and every year, a lot of us who support the booster club, end up buying apparel whether we need it or not.”

Weaton said he and the other board members realized they have many articles of clothing that no longer fit them or they no longer wear, just taking up space in their closet.

“We’re constantly looking for events to raise money to support the booster club, to support the student athletes at the high school and middle school,” Weaton said. “We said, ‘What if we started the world’s largest Trojan garage sale?’ We thought we could expand it to any sports apparel, so if you’ve got Trojan apparel, Packer apparel, Chiefs, NBA or PGA stuff, we’ll take it.”

Weaton said one nice thing he hopes will result from this sale is that community members of any income level will be able to afford to purchase school clothing, so they can show their pride while also getting a bargain.

“Those who can’t buy a $40 sweatshirt because they have limited finances, will be able to purchase one at a greatly reduced rate,” he said. “This is about getting Trojan apparel on kids who would love to have a Trojan sweatshirt but can’t afford it.”

The boosters will accept new and used clothing, and if it’s used, they ask that it be washed beforehand. Weaton said the board talked about accepting donations of sports equipment like cleats or helmets, but decided that would be too much to handle for their first garage sale.

“We need to walk before we can run,” Weaton said.

Weaton said that any clothing that is not sold that day will be donated to either The Well — Fairfield, or Goodwill. Since it is the first garage sale the boosters have done, he said it’s hard to know how much money it will raise, but he’s hoping for about $5,000.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com