By Katie Murphy ’14 | Staff Writer

Earning $4,600 for the choir program, the South choir parent boosters held a garage sale Oct. 4 and 5, Choir Director Christopher Pratt said.

Parents and students worked hard throughout a couple of weeks to organize a high-profit garage sale, Pratt said. The garage sale consisted of donations from not only people involved in the choir program, but Grosse Pointe supporters as well.

“There’s all kinds of stuff, there’s been donations, there’s sizeable furniture, to holiday knick-knacks,” said Pratt. “It’s just a variety.”

Because it is an annual event, community members are able to set things aside all year that they will eventually donate to the choir garage sale, Pratt said.

“Anytime you do or repeat an event like this, people start going, ‘Oh, I can donate this to the South garage sale,’” said Pratt. “All of the proceeds go back to our booster operating fund, which the boosters raise about $150,000 a year, so it’s one of the fundraisers that go towards supporting the program at the school.”

To spread the word, the choir students and parents worked hard to post signs around Grosse Pointe, Pratt said. Information about the garage sale was all around the community; there were signs at local restaurants and on the front lawn of the school, information on the website and word of mouth.

“It’s a way for people to think of things to hold back and donate to the garage sale,” said Pratt. “They get a write-off for (their taxes by donating). We get quite a lot of interest from people wanting to donate.”

Choir President Christina Koehler ‘14 worked alongside the other choir leadership, as well as choir students to put together the garage sale. They also spread the word and to urge as many people to attend the event as possible.

“We encourage parents and staff to come to support their students and their choir that works very hard year round to provide what I would consider multiple amazing shows a year,” said Koehler. “We encourage other students to come because it really is fun to just come and look around, even if you don’t buy something.”

Having been a tradition in her family for many years, Emma Aboukasm ‘14, said that she enjoys working on the choir garage sale and can remember working on it when she was younger with her older sister who was involved in choir.

“It’s kind of a tradition,” said Aboukasm. “My mom and I always donate items to the garage sale and have worked on garage sales together from when my older sister was in choir at South too.”

Having raised $4,600 from the garage sale, the choir will be using the money for new costumes and sets, said Koehler.