How does it look? Shop for bargains today at Child & Family’s Annual Sale.

Child and Family Agency of Southeastern Connecticut is readying the shelves for a 60-year tradition – its Annual Sale, the largest and longest running event of its kind in New England.  The sale starts Thursday, May 1, at 9 a.m. and will run through Saturday, May 3, at the New London Armory 249 Bayonet Street in New London, Conn.

In the spring of 1954, a group of women held Child and Family Agency’s first sale at the Skipper’s Dock in Noank.  The building had been vacant and there was no heat.  The volunteers made fast friendships while organizing clothes and pots and pans to raise money to help children in need.

In the years to follow, the sale would be held in vacant storefronts in New London and Groton, the gyms at St. Bernard’s and Grasso Tech, Ocean Beach, and the New London Armory.  While the locations changed, the friendships, fun, and laughter amongst the auxiliary volunteers have remained the constant during the 60 years of supporting the children served by Child and Family Agency.

The organization will return on May 1, 2 and 3 to an old, but favorite site, the New London Armory at 249 Bayonet Street where the sale was held for many years.  This year’s tag-line for the sale is, “Buy a Treasure, Help a Child.”

Merchandise at the sale ranges from prom dresses to fine furniture, tools, linens in excellent condition, decorative accessories, jewelry, china, glassware (only in sets of two or more) and silver, books, toys and games, children’s furniture and equipment, and small clean appliances in good working order.

Items for sale also include: furniture, household/decorative items, sporting goods, linens, antiques, collectibles, books and CDs, artwork, tools, garden equipment, clothing in good condition, vintage clothing, jewelry, and small appliances.

Lynn Fairfield-Sonn of Old Lyme, director of Development & Community Relations for Child and Family Agency, notes, “While items sell well below retail value, the money raised for Child and Family Agency helps to provide services to over 17,000 children and their families in our communities.”

The first day prices are 125 percent, the second day they reduce to 100 percent and finally, on the third day, prices are at 50 percent.  The overall goal this year for the sale is to raise $60,000.

This year’s co-chairs are Amanda Rutledge of Old Lyme, Ellie Krusewski, and Mary Dangremond of Old Lyme.  Click here to watch a video featuring the chairs talking about the sale.