The Closet of Greater Herndon is holding its annual toy sale this Saturday, July 20, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Laura Greenspan, the toy sale coordinator, said this is the nonprofit thrift shop’s last off-site toy sale, but it doesn’t mean The Closet is ending toy sales altogether.
“The offsite toy sale is being discontinued so our small toy team (two volunteers, both of whom are grandmothers eager to spend more time with their grandchildren) can concentrate on in-store toy sales,” Greenspan told FFXnow in an email. “Also, the offsite toy sale is a massive volunteer operation and the coordinator wants to retire from this aspect of her volunteer efforts at The Closet.”
The event is held every year in an effort to support The Closet’s scholarship program, which gives financial assistance to local high school students pursuing post-secondary education.
Since 1974, The Closet has awarded nearly $780,000 in scholarships, according to its website. Recipients in years past have graduated from Dominion, Herndon, Mountain View, Park View, South Lakes and Westfield high schools.
The toy sale has been a staple of The Closet’s events calendar since 2012 when the store was only open for 12 hours per week.
“[It was] not nearly enough time to process and sell all the great toys donated by our very supportive community,” Greenspan said. “Now we are open six days a week, including two evenings, for a total of 48 hours; that’s a lot of time to sell toys, plus our sales floor has expanded, so we have more space!”
Now, with the end of the off-site toy sale, the “toy team” will now focus on in-store sales and growing their team, Greenspan said.
The off-site toy sale will be held at the Herndon Moose Lodge (779 Center Street).
Founded in 1974 by some local churches, The Closet is located at 845 Station Street. It accepts donations from 8 a.m. to noon every day except for Thursdays and Sundays, and visitors can shop from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except on Sundays. Hours are extended to 8 p.m. on Monday and Thursday.
