Boys & Girls Club’s summer sale on Friday helps raise money for teen center

MOSES LAKE — Tables, spaced six feet apart, were spread in front of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin building in Moses Lake on Friday afternoon as the organization hosted a summer yard sale.

Profits from the yard sale went toward the club’s teen center and programs. After a similar sale in the fall, Rebecca Mabius, director of programs, said the club had a lot of inventory left over.

“We planned to do one in the spring before everything got shut down,” Mabius said. “We said, OK, we still have all this stuff and we don’t necessarily want to get rid of it, but we also want to keep helping support ourselves through the yard sale. So, we talked about doing one in July once things opened up a little bit more.” Mabius said staff made sure tables of merchandise were spread apart to be in accordance with social distancing guidelines. She said social media was used to encourage social distancing and mask-wearing when coming out to the yard sale.

After having the fall sale indoors, Mabius said, the big change for this summer sale was moving the location outside.

“When we did the last one for the teen center, it was inside, and people were able to come in and look around,” Mabius said. “But, we do so much cleaning in our facility as it is, we didn’t want more people coming through and having to clean each time.”

The sale netted about $330 for the teen center and its programs on Friday, Mabius said. While it’s not one of the club’s biggest money-making events, she said the money really helps support a lot of the smaller programs.

“It is important for our teen center because we are really trying to grow our teen center,” she said. “Obviously things have changed, but we are still trying to take our teens to different universities, to have speakers.”

Staff and other community members contributed items for the sale to add to the existing inventory, and some of the kids from the Boys & Girls Club were able to come out and help customers. Mabius said the kids had fun with the experience, and picked up some customer service experience in the process.

“Having them be able to help, and go up to someone, can be really intimidating,” Mabius said. “Even as an adult, asking someone, hey, how can I help you. It’s a very basic skill, but it can be intimidating.”

Right now, Mabius said, a lot of the children don’t really have the chance to have the social interactions they’re used to. Since reopening after time off to prepare the facility and staff when the shutdown first struck, she said, the club has been looking to find ways to support the kids any way it can.

“I think a big part of it has been, for us, trying to find modified programs that can be done at a social distance, and being there to support kids that are struggling socially and emotionally with having to be physically distant from others, not seeing their normal group of people, especially their teachers, kids who really rely on the school system for a safe place, rely on the Boys & Girls Club for a safe place,” she said.

“Wacky Wednesdays” have been one of the weekly ways Mabius and her staff have tried to help children through this time. On Mondays, she said, the club also has professionals come in or call in by video for career exploration to discuss their jobs with the kids.

As school year registration approaches, Mabius said, she and the staff will be making modifications to work to continue to assist the community however they can.

“We are there for the community and the kids,” she said.

Daily registrations for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin are still ongoing, with the summer program lasting through Aug. 31.

Casey McCarthy can be reached at [email protected].