Mothers’ Guild of SFHS holds annual yard sale

As spring descends upon La Cañada, so too does spring cleaning — giving the Mothers’ Guild of St. Francis High School the perfect time to hold their annual yard sale last weekend.

The two-day event was held in the school’s gym. There was a wide variety of items available for purchase, everything from men’s and women’s clothing, jewelry, and accessories, to furniture, books, movies, and educational materials. About 100 area residents donated items for sale — including a Wurlitzer organ complete with a bench full of sheet music that drew the attention of bargain hunters.

“That’s an amazing piece,” Lettie Ibarra-Friedman, who organized the sale for the Mothers’ Guild, said of the Wurlitzer. “It must have been hard for someone to donate it. But then, it gives so much joy…it’s already sold, but we have another father who wants to buy it.”

Ibarra-Friedman, the mother of two St. Francis students, a sophomore and a junior, said this was the second year she’s chaired the sale.

“What I like most of all is that I’m able to meet a cross-section of our entire community,” she said. “Not just the St. Francis community, but also the local community, and people that come around to shop. All the parents that are here from the schools, from the parents that donate, to the parents that come to work, all of the boys — just getting to know everyone is why I do it.”

Ruby Natividad, whose son is a sophomore at the school, helped out during the event. “I think it’s a good time of the year, everybody’s doing spring cleaning. It’s just fun. I’ve made some friends with some mothers, met some students, and everyone is working together and having fun while they’re working.”

By the end of the weekend the guild had raised more than $8,000 to help its efforts in support of the school, according to Christina Tinglof, co-president of the guild. A large portion each year is donated to the school for purchases such as desks. Additional money will be placed in the HOPE fund, an emergency fund for any family at SFHS that is in an emergency situation and needs help with tuition.

“I think it’s a great event,” Ibarra-Friedman said. “It’s a good way for everyone to come together and mostly just to repurpose items, which is so important.”

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Michael Bruer is a freelance writer.

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