MASSHOPE 2012

 

 

                   Date:                      Saturday, July 28, 2012

                   Time:                     10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

                   Location:              Chapel of the Cross

                                                 160 Flanders Rd, Westborough, MA

 

READ ALL ABOUT IT!                

We’ve moved!  After 7 years in two different locations in Southbridge, MA the UCS is moving locations to help us better serve a wider population.  Chapel of the Cross is a newer facility on one level with easy access for loading/unloading and parking.  It also has good air-conditioning and more bathrooms!

 

 

If you would like to join the home school mom’s version of Filene’s Basement when the bridal gowns go on sale, come on down to Chapel of the Cross for our annual Used Curriculum Sale!  Last year we had 17,000 items for sale and 8000 FREE items (we really count them all! All that is missing from making this year even more successful than previous years is YOU!

 

No childcare facilities will be available.  This is an intense shopping time with hundreds of shoppers and thousands of books in a gymnasium sized space.  You will find it easier to concentrate if you can make childcare arrangements for toddlers and preschoolers who still need to hold a mommy’s hand.  We will have volunteers to help pregnant mothers and those with special needs.  Once again, the “Chivalry Livery” will be on hand to help bring books to cars.  The book rest table will also be available.

 

Chapel of the Cross has carpeted floors which allows us to permit plastic wheels on your shopping aid for your shopping convenience.  Yea! 

 

Shopping Aids permitted: 

Luggage carts, rolling milk crates, any rolling container the size of a milk crate or smaller.  Small strollers are permitted ONLY if they have a child in them!

 

Shopping Aids not permitted: (must be left outside the sale area & claimed after paying)

ANY OPAQUE CONTAINER due to past problems years ago with theft including tote bags, backpacks, and rolling suitcases. Space constraints with large crowds do not permit us to allow wagons, double strollers, or laundry baskets on luggage carts or any aid larger than a rolling milk crate.  People need to be able to get to the tables!

 

 Cash or check only – NO CREDIT CARDS.

 

 

This sale is 100% dependant on volunteers!  I am a volunteer as are all MassHOPE Board Members.  Volunteers (children included) who sign up by July 20, 2012 and volunteer to work 3 hours or more are allowed to shop one hour before the sale opens to the public and have first choice of items.  It is also a great way to help children (age 10 & up) develop a servant’s heart while learning valuable skills.  Most of all, it’s a wonderful way to share in the camaraderie of being part of the group that makes a big event happen.  There are an awful lot of wonderful homeschoolers!  REMEMBER, SIGN-UP DEADLINE IS midnight, Friday, July 20, 2011.

 

WORKERS

·        Volunteers are needed to help receive, sort, distribute, set up, and organize books during Thursday, July 26 and Friday, July 27.  We appreciate cheerful people who like to make things neat!  While we happily accept on site volunteers, only volunteers who have signed up in advance and are scheduled to work three hours or more, are eligible to shop early on the sale date.  No one may shop before July 28.

·        We also need volunteers to help man the sale, i.e., helping direct shoppers and assisting those with needs, keeping books neat in assigned areas, helping with the book rest, assisting with breakdown (from 1 – 2 pm) and cleaning up.

·        Please wear appropriate clothing and bring a sack lunch.

·        Children 10 and up may volunteer with a parent.  To register, please go to the registration link on the MassHope.org website, or contact Julie Caprera at masshope2012ucs@aol.com

 

 

 

It is the desire of MassHOPE to help you sell your items and for buyers to find items of value to them.  While the instructions may seem extremely detailed, they all have reasons behind them, and many have come about as an improvement from problems in a prior year!  Another big factor for the strict guidelines is the size of the sale.  Such a large volume of activity requires carefully constructed procedures to make the sale run smoothly for all parties involved without placing an inordinate amount of work upon the volunteers.

 

ALL SELLERS MUST REGISTER IN ADVANCE OF BRINGING THEIR ITEMS TO BE SOLD.  Registration is available only online at www.masshope.org on the Used Curriculum link.  If you do not have online access, please ask a friend or use your local library.  If there are still problems, call Julie Caprera (508) 764-7647. REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS 11:59pm, Friday, July 20,2012. When you register to sell you will receive an e-mail within 48 hours with the files containing all the directions for preparing your items and the item labels.  If you have not had a confirmation response from Julie Caprera within 48 hours of your registration, please contact her to be sure it was received!  Ultimately, it is your responsibility to make sure you are registered.

 

     When registering to sell items, all sellers must make an appointment time to drop off their items.   All items are checked individually (we really do this!) to make sure they are properly labeled before they are accepted for sale.  Please allow sufficient time (30-45 min) for this when you make your appointment.  You will be given opportunity to correct any problems or will be asked to bring the item home.  Improperly labeled items have required many hours of volunteer time for correction, and we no longer are able to do this.  If you bring items for another person you will be expected to wait for all their items to be checked also.

 

The main reasons items are not accepted are:

1) Handwritten tags (need all new computer generated tags)

2) Tags taped at top and bottom instead of down the sides (tags must be taken off and re-taped correctly)

3) Items taped on all 4 sides (tags removed and re-taped correctly)

4) Items without duplicate tag inside back cover (duplicate tag must be added)

 5) Items not secured with enough rubber bands to withstand the sale crowd (rubber bands added).

 

MassHOPE uses donated unsold items to provide free curriculum for families who start home schooling on an emergency basis during the next year.  Remaining unsold items go on the FREE table the following year along with items donated at the time of the sale. 

 

MassHOPE will provide the stamps and envelopes for mailing of sales slips and payment to each seller.  A small fee ($2 to $5) will be deducted from the sales to cover these costs based upon the number of items sold and the postage.  There is no charge if no items are sold.

 

Times for Bringing Your Sale Items            

 

Chapel of the Cross                         15% of sale price is donated to MassHOPE

Thursday, July 26 from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm  

Friday, July 27 from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon

(Last drop off appointment is 7:30 pm Thurs. or 11:30 am Friday)

                                                                         

 

Chapel of the Cross                         20% of sale price is donated to MassHOPE

Saturday, June 28from 8:00 to 8:30 am 

(by appointment only—limited to 100 items each--4 appointments max)

    

For questions and information, contact: Julie Caprera at (508) 764-7647 or Masshope2012ucs@aol.com. If you get an answering machine, please leave a message, speaking slowly and spelling your name.

Pick-up for Unsold Books

Chapel of the Cross, Westborough, MA

Saturday, July 28, 2:00 to 3:00 pm

 

All books must be picked up by 3:00 pm

Saturday.  Any books not picked up will be

donated to MassHOPE.  Please arrange for

someone else to pick up your unsold items if

you are unable to collect them.

 

 

 

From all points:

 

Chapel of the Cross is located in central Massachusetts in Westborough just off the intersection of Rt. 9 and I-495 one exit north of the Mass Turnpike (I-90).  Your approach will depend on your starting point, but almost all people will find the directions below provided by the church relevant to them.

 

From Intersection of I-495 and Route 9 - Go west on Route 9 and take immediate exit for Computer Drive. At end of exit ramp turn left. Go 300 feet and turn left onto New Flanders Road, heading south, over Route 9. After bearing left, New Flanders becomes Flanders Rd. Go under I-495 and look for driveway on the left, immediately after Washington Street.

Directions can be customized for your location by going to www.chapelofthecross.com and clicking on the link for directions located under the  “Join us this weekend” header on the left side.

 

 

You will receive a check from MassHOPE in approximately three to four weeks for the proceeds of your books less your donation to MassHOPE and fee for P&H.  You will also receive the tags of the items sold and two register tapes of your sale items.  It is your responsibility to keep track of what you bring and plan to sell.  We keep no records of individual items sold by sellers.