Last modified: Monday, August 27, 2012
Hoosier to Hoosier sale sets records
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 27, 2012
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- This year's Hoosier to Hoosier Community Sale exceeded organizers' expectations, shattering sale records set in 2011. Attended by 2,500 shoppers, the August 2012 sale resulted in 35 tons of items sold and generated $29,000 -- nearly triple its first-year sale total.
The sale, now in its third year, has also increased in popularity. Some shoppers spent the night and others arrived early to ensure a prime place in line. "When I arrived at 6 a.m., I found one family of five were sleeping together under a large blanket and were the first in line," said Erica Bramlet, IU Office of Sustainability intern and Hoosier to Hoosier sale coordinator.
Doors opened at 7:30 a.m., and shoppers raced to the different areas of the sale, from furniture to household goods, to gather up treasures. The majority of furniture was sold by 10 a.m. as the sale broke records in the number of early shoppers.
The money raised from the sale will be distributed among United Way of Monroe County, Habitat for Humanity/ReStore, the City of Bloomington Department of Economic and Sustainable Development and the IU Office of Sustainability. Approximately 12,000 pounds, or one-fifth of the merchandise, mostly clothing, was donated to Goodwill Industries at the end of the sale.
H2H is a reuse program that aims to divert reusable items from the landfill during student move-out. This year, about 80 percent of the clothing and household items came from residence halls, and almost 100 percent of the furniture came from off-campus apartments and the Greek community.
Furthermore, H2H aims to prevent additional resource consumption by selling the collected items to raise funds for local charities and other organizations. It is a partnership among United Way of Monroe County, Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County, the City of Bloomington, IU Athletics, the IU Office of Sustainability and IU Residential Programs and Services.
H2H is always looking for interested people to get involved in event planning activities, such as new developing strategies for volunteer recruitment, organizing goods and determining a new location for next year's sale. If you want to participate or would like to volunteer for the 2013 sale, email h2h@indiana.edu. Visit the Hoosier to Hoosier website or its Facebook page for more information.
This time-lapse photography video of the 2012 sale compresses six hours of shoppers coming and going into 24 seconds.
