Kudos to the Great Glebe Garage Sale
Bringing community together while helping the environment
By Katie Fice
“I love how organic it is – and the amazing array of things that are sold and happen that day, from music to great food to craft sales and fundraisers and the tons and tons of stuff we save from landfills every year.” Colette Downie, lead for the Great Glebe Garage Sale (GGGS) explains her love for the sale. The renowned neighbourhood event has been held every year since 1986 and despite a global pandemic continued in 2020 and 2021 virtually. The pivot to virtual using the Give Shop Marketplace did not stop it from being a huge success.
It was of great importance to the GGGS committee for the event to continue during the pandemic as it provides financial support to the Ottawa Food Bank. The pandemic hit the clients of the Ottawa Food Bank especially hard so holding the GGGS virtually meant donations would still be given to the food bank. The Glebe Community Association asks every year that sellers donate 10% of their sale proceeds which in recent years raised about $12,000 for the organization. “We were really happy with the virtual sale this year. We saw almost $7,000 worth of goods posted to benefit the Ottawa Food Bank during the campaign period and we raised about $3,000. With matching donations to the Ottawa Food Bank, that will translate to about $15,000 worth of food!”, Colette proudly reports from the 2021 virtual event.
Colette expressed gratitude to all of the Glebe businesses who contributed in big ways during the event despite the tough time they have experienced during the pandemic. Metro in the Glebe, Ten Spot and Fred Astaire Studios donated prizes for those who posted stuff to sell. Many businesses (like Lynne and Dominique of Engels & Volkers) also posted tons of Glebe gift cards, which added greatly to the total sales. The Glebe BIA was invaluable in getting the word out, the event had great media coverage and the Give Shop team was so supportive. Besides all of the local businesses that donated, thank you to everyone who posted stuff for sale in the Give Shop Marketplace and to the buyers who turned those sales into actual cash for the Ottawa Food Bank.
When asked about the environmental implications of the sale, Colette believes the benefits are massive. “It has diverted tons and tons of stuff from landfills every year and has given that stuff new life.” She was once told by an environmental group that the GGGS is the largest neighbourhood recycling event in North America. It may be true but if it’s not it sure has a positive impact on the people and the environment alike.
I will leave you with one lovely memory that Colette shared from a past GGGS which shows how special this event is to the neighborhood. A few years back there was a multi-faith wedding held at St. Matthews on the same day of the sale. Many wedding guests travelled in a group with the groom who was on horseback from the Community Center to the church. Along the way the party picked up a huge crowd of well-wishers who were out for the GGGS and probably curious about the wedding party and groom on horseback. “It was a pretty amazing sight to see the massive crowd that arrived to celebrate the wedding – and emblematic to me of the spirit of the GGGS day”.
If you’ve been making efforts to reduce your waste, we may feature you in a future column. Please send a short paragraph explaining how you are reducing your household or business waste to environment@glebeca.ca, attention Katie.
Conscious of her own waste footprint, Katie Fice joined the Glebe Community Association’s Zero Waste Committee (a subcommittee of the Environment Committee) to learn about waste reduction and help raise awareness of simple changes in daily living that have a positive impact on the environment.
