The Big Sandy Medical Guild held its annual rummage sale last week, raising money to benefit the Medical Center and the surrounding community. The event itself was a rousing success, attracting a larger than normal quantity of donations of rummage for the sale and more traffic than in a typical year.
I spoke with Lisa Sipler, the president of the Big Sandy Medical Guild, about the sale. She reported that as of Sunday evening they had raised $13,000 between the rummage sale, pie counter sales, the raffle, and direct donations. She commented that "Last year we did a little over $11,000 from the rummage sale. Then we got a $5,000 donation from the Lippard Clawiter Foundation. All the money went to the dining room remodel last year."
The Medical Guild's financial support of the dining room remodel is typical of the sort of work they do with the money they raise. "This year we're putting all of our money towards the remodel in the old clinic for the new CT machine." In addition to large renovation projects, the Guild has purchased furniture, funded activities for residents, purchased flowers for the beautification of the courtyard, supported the installation of a new tub and related remodeling, purchased new chairs, beds, wheelchairs, kitchen equipment, and more.
The Big Sandy Medical Guild has been running the Rummage Sales to support the medical center since the 1960's, when the center itself was opened. Originally sales were held in the basement of the Odd Fellow's Hall next to the grocery store.
The sale itself has become a part of the local culture over the 60 years that it has been taking place. Lisa pointed out that the Pie Counter is a continuous draw for locals who know that stopping in for pie and socializing with neighbors is just a part of the annual rummage sale.
Lisa remarked that there is some uncertainty regarding the future of the Rummage Sale in our community due to volunteer related issues. The average volunteer is putting in around 40 or 50 hours the week before the sale itself. Many of those involved are seniors, who have been helping to organize the sale for decades. She emphasized the need for new volunteers in future years to help keep the sale going. She was quick to point out younger help that stepped away from their day jobs to fill in at various times and for shifts. She explained that the timing of harvest and seeding also generally shapes the volunteer makeup from year to year. However, the more prominent roles for sorting, organizing, and labeling donations require larger time commitments. Younger volunteers will be needed in future years if the sale is going to continue over the long term.
Regarding advantages for volunteering, Lisa pointed out that volunteers get to make purchases from donations before the sale begins. As a volunteer for nearly 10 years running, I can attest that spending time doing the work with neighbors and friends is actually quite a bit of fun. The conversations, joking around, and the fun of just sorting through books (which I volunteer to organize every year) is something I look forward to annually. It is a highlight of the Big Sandy community calendar for me.
Anyone who would like to donate to the Medical Guild can get ahold of Lisa Sipler or Reggie Jappe. Otherwise they can go directly to the First Bank of Montana in Big Sandy and deposit donations in the Medical Guild account or send a check made out to the Big Sandy Medical Guild to the Medical Center, care of Lisa Sipler.
Anyone interested in being involved with the Medical Guild can reach out to Lisa Sipler or check out their Facebook page for more information. They will be electing new officers in the coming weeks, in particular filling an open secretary position.
