Bicycles for a cause

Photo: Jim Couper

The biggest yard sale in the Okanagan is set for Saturday at St. Charles Garnier Church in Kelowna.

The sale is run by Bicycles for Humanity. For a decade, money raised has gone to shipping bikes to Ghana. Recently imposed import duties on used bicycles now make that financially impossible.

Funds now go to a church group that supports the local poor in Kelowna. Many of them will be helping out at the sale. The money also helps refugee families in Kelowna.

The sale offers automobiles, boats, furniture, appliances, bicycles, tools, sporting  goods – nearly everything except books and clothes. Sale items will cover the lawn in front and in back of the church and will fill the main hall inside, so it is not weather dependent.

As always, bikes are a big part of the sale. Some donated bikes go to Guatemala, some are given away at the sale, many get distributed to struggling families in Kelowna and some will be sold on April 22.

High-end bikes and other expensive items are sold in a silent auction format with a twist. Any buyer who meets a suggested sale price can take the item away immediately. Otherwise bidding ends at 3 p.m. and best bid below the asking price gets the item.

Donated items worth at least $10, such as summer sporting goods (except golf clubs) can be dropped off between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. the day before the sale. 

For more information contact Keith Germaine at 250-764-2942.