Clothing resale takes over Negaunee school gym

Volunteers are hard at work in Negaunee, sorting through a variety of clothes to help provide teachers with items needed in their classrooms.

It’s the annual clothing resale at Lakeview Elementary School. The event has taken over the gymnasium; gently used items take up about an acre of floor space. They include athletic clothing, shoes and winter gear for all ages.

“Sometimes I feel like we’re starting to outgrow the gym and we might have to move up into the bleacher sections,” resale coordinator Jill Seppala said. “It’s a community sale. Each individual seller makes a profit, and then the other profit goes to the LPTP program of Lakeview, which is the Parent Teacher Partnership.”

The resale has taken place for about 20 years now. Anyone can register to put items up for sale, and more than 100 different people have done just that so far.

“(The LPTP) helps the teachers with individual needs that aren’t covered in the budget,” Seppala said. “It helps with school needs such as new playground equipment. We always put money towards that. Any field trips, we try to help out with events like that.”

The resale takes place from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. tomorrow and from noon to 3:00 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free, and most of the items remaining in the gym on Sunday will be marked half-off.

The event doesn’t end there, either. Organizers have once again distributed coupons to schools, churches and other organizations so that families can shop for free after closing time on Sunday. Any items left over after the free shopping will be donated to organizations like Bay Cliff Health Camp in Big Bay and the Care Clinic and Janzen House in Marquette.