Virginia Mennonite Relief Sale announces preliminary results

The 2020 Virginia Mennonite Relief Sale was unlike any other. While a lot of favorites were missing from the fairgrounds this year, what I missed the most was seeing everyone gather and enjoy being together.

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is celebrating 100 years of helping others around the world in the name of Christ in 2020. MCC has had to make some cuts to programs and adapt how they help others due to Covid-19. We also had to find ways to adapt. It was a success!

We had two drive-through meals. The Chicken BBQ dinner raised a total of $18,082 on Friday evening. Saturday lunch’s Fish Fry raised $13,291. (Both were delicious!) The potato chips, pies, and other baked goods sold out quickly and raised $9,624.

I heard a lot of positive comments about the online auction. The auction had 222 items which brought in $89,536. There were 24 items that sold for $1,000 or more: 15 quilts, eight wood items and a monthly flower arrangement. There were two items that sold for over $2,000: the top quilt, “Starry Night,” made and donated by Mt. Pleasant Mennonite Church, sold for $2,975. The next highest was “Jacob’s Ladder,” pieced by Evie McPhee, quilted by Evie King, and donated by Lindale Mennonite Women, which raised $2,150.

If you would like to see what each item raised, you can still view items by following the online auction link on vareliefsale.com. As of now, the total of My Coins Count is $11,648.78.

Proceeds from the 5K run is still being calculated and Sharing our Surplus (SOS) is also being tabulated, but has raised significant funds for refugee relief. An Augusta County mini relief sale raised a bit over $9,000. Harrisonburg Mennonite held a breakfast last week which raised $8,000.

Although we didn’t have as many volunteers, the ones we had worked hard and had fun. Thank you! Also, thank you all for your generous bidding and donations.

The preliminary total for the 2020 relief sale is right around $266,500. Last year’s preliminary total was around $380,000. We still have time to meet or exceed that total. Churches can still organize their own event and if you would still like to donate, it is not too late.

You can send checks to:

VA Relief Sale
601 Parkwood Drive
Harrisonburg VA 22802

Thank you!