By Victoria Hurley-Schubert, Staff Writer
Piles of yarn, a blow-up Charlie Brown Chirstmas decoration, an exercise bike, a karaoke machine and kitchen wares were all on sale at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton’s annual rummage sale on Saturday.
”It’s my favorite rummage sale. I’ve been coming for years and years,” said Ann Peretzman of Princeton Township. “It’s people friendly and makes for a fun morning and it’s a good cause.”
The sale is an annual tradition for many in the area and all the items added up to more than $24,000 in proceeds that will go to area nonprofits.
”It’s a beautiful day, we come every year,” said Bob Schwartz of Princeton Township, who purchased a table and chair set. “I hope we don’t come home with too much stuff.”
Others came looking for one thing, and left with many others, such as Barbara Riman of Montgomery, who didn’t find the furniture she was looking for, but found lots of books for summer reading.
”I came to find a couch for my daughter, she’s in college,” she said as she piled books into a box, happy with her finds.
Setting up the gigantic sale, which spans three levels of the church building and spills outside, begins in the winter.
”We start lining up the top leadership in January, recruiting booth chairs in February and volunteers in March,” said Louise Senior, chairwoman of the sale.
The total raised was $24,665, which after expenses, will be shared among almost 15 area nonprofits to organizations that provide emergency food, shelter, education and other services in Mercer County. The nonprofits apply for the funds through a grant application process that is reviewed by the church’s Social Justice Committee.
”It’s astounding because that one area we call the flea market where everything is like 25 cents, that area made $1,800,” she said.
”We have cars this year,” she said, noting a congregant donated a Subaru and Honda after purchasing new cars for themselves. “We’ve never had cars before. Together the two of them brought in $3,000. The owners feel that the way we sold them brought more money than if they had sold them privately, so they are very happy.”
Unsold items will also be distributed among area organizations.
Unsold books will go to the Ewing Public Library for their book sale, Spanish materials will go to the East Trenton Learning Center and other items will go to Second Time Around in Pennington.

