Great South Side Sale breaks record...again

At promptly 10 a.m. Saturday, June 6, Lehigh’s Great South Side Sale welcomed the community patrons who had begun lining up hours before.

Within 10 minutes, more than 1,000 people had flooded into the massive tent set up on the corner of Fourth and Buchanan streets to snap up furniture, lamps, baby clothes, designer dresses and shoes, small appliances, mini-fridges, new and vintage books, plates, crystal, toys, sporting equipment and more.

By late that afternoon, organizers had ample reason to celebrate. The event that sells items discarded by departing Lehigh students, faculty and staff at deeply discounted prices raised a record $19,785 this year—beating last year’s record-breaking tally by a few hundred dollars.

“We were thrilled with the incredible support from the Lehigh family,” said Carolina Hernandez, director of Lehigh’s Community Service Office and co-organizer of the annual event.

Hernandez works with Kim Carrell-Smith, professor of practice in the department of history, on the Move-Out collection drive and sale. She said a small army of Lehigh volunteers makes the enormous undertaking possible.

Hernandez singled out David Joseph, Lehigh’s executive director of Student Auxiliary Services.

“David is our hero,” she said. “He is the first one here and the last one to leave.”

Organizers also credited the entire staff of the Office of Residential Services, who helped load trucks for the sale; Pat Johnson, Vice President for Administration and Finance, who showed up to welcome crowds and ended up staying all day; and Provost Pat Farrell, who opened the sale and stayed on to sell rugs.

“That’s one of the messiest and hardest jobs,” Hernandez said.

Sale proceeds are funneled back into the community through educational programs run by the Community Service Office. The programs include field trips and Homework Clubs, which pair Lehigh tutors with local schoolchildren.