HAMPDEN, Maine — Searsport resident Alan Talgo just bought a house and decided Saturday morning to take a 25-mile drive to the Community Church of the Open Door for its second annual Great Giveaway to see what he could get for his new home.
The ride in his old red truck was well worth the gas, he said.
“The place I just got — the only thing missing for appliances is the fridge,” he said as he and his nephew, Matthew Talgo from Appleton, loaded items. “I got a foosball table, a fridge, an old wooden table, a floor lamp and a chair.”
The items he got for free easily would have cost him at least a couple hundred dollars, said his mom, Phyllis Talgo of Appleton, who came along for the ride.
“We all live on fixed incomes so it was great,” she said of the church giveaway.
Hundreds of items, donated by church and community members, disappeared fast during the free yard sale.
“We started at 9 [a.m.] and we’re pretty much down to nothing and it’s only like 10:30,” said church member Holly Cain, of Dedham.
Cain, her husband, Zach, and fellow organizer Esther Littlefield of Glenburn are on the church’s missions team. Around 20 church volunteers, including 4-year-old Eli Cain, helped to set up tables, display items and help people load the items they selected.
“We hope to make it an annual event,” Littlefield said.
People were so excited about the free yard sale, “We had people already here at 7:30 a.m.,” she said. Some participants offered money for the free items, but their offerings were turned down. The event was not about raising money, it was about giving back to the community, Littlefield said.
“We’re a Christian church and wanted to share the love of God and help the community — help the people in this area,” she said.
Phyllis Talgo said the items her son acquired will help him make his new house a home.
“It’s a blessing,” she said.
I heard this event was a great turnout. Thank you to the church for doing this. You helped alot that needed things. God bless you
Wow doesn’t get any better than a free yard sale. An asset to the community and surrounding area for sure!
Great job in helping the community but was it first come first serve? Just wondering how they decided who received what.
Yes it was first come first served. We did have a limit on how many big items someone could take (i.e. appliances, furniture, etc). People did a great job of being respectful and not greedy.
Thanks for the response and again, thanks for stepping up and helping the community. As an atheist I applaud your effort.
Edit: Going to spread this about the atheist community to see if we can do the same to help our fellow man.
Thank you for your kind comments. I believe the more we help each other, the better our community will be.
Got to wonder if the cult also helps atheists and gays. Bet you no.
There were no qualifications for someone to attend the giveaway. We welcomed anyone and everyone. Likewise at church, we welcome anyone to attend.
A church gets a bunch of free stuff and turns it down a revenue source because they already leach enough off of the taxpayers and the extortion money they collect from parishioners and have the audacity to suggest Atheists emulate them? Grotesque.That is like kicking a puppy across town and stopping before punting it off a bridge.Buying needed items and giving it away for free is “charity”. Being a no-overhead middleman is just like a retailer selling a loss leader to gain more customers. It is not like “using craigslist” it is craigslist. The parishioners are not giving of their own free will. They have been threatened with eternal damnation and promised an inconceivable eternal reward for their allegiance. Much like the established Consumer Protection, Federal Racketeering laws and the Food and Drug Administration people’s expenditures must be protected from fraud as an effort of Social Responsibility.
1. We didn’t “get” bunch of free stuff. We (the church members and attenders) donated items. I donated plenty of items I could have sold and gotten money for, but instead wished to give away at the yard sale.
2. We didn’t suggest Atheists emulate us. That was suggested by a commenter above, and I think it’s a fine idea. The more we help each other, the better.
3. No one was threatened if they didn’t give, nor promised rewards for giving. It was actually the opposite of what you said – people did, in fact, give of their own free will.
It’s fine for you to not agree with our beliefs, and that is okay. We had a great time, it was a fun event, and a lot of people were helped. Personally, I’m gonna choose to focus on the positive and continue to look for ways to help others in our community.