The energetic Dunedin Host Lions Club is gearing up to offer bargains to the community, while raising funds for a good cause in its annual charity garage sale.

This year’s garage sale will be held on October 17, from 8.30am-2pm in the Rakiātea community building, on site at Catholic Social Services, 42 Macandrew Rd. 

Items for sale will include small furniture, kitchen items, clothing, bric-a-brac, books, vinyl, CDs and more.

The funds raised through the garage sale will go towards sponsoring children to attend the week-long Camp Quality South camp for children living with cancer.

Dunedin Host Lions Club president Jenni Mattingly  said the annual garage sale had supported a broad range of local organisations over the years, ranging from the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital to Foster Hope.

“In recent years, we have grown the event and added raffles, so that we are usually able to raise up to $4000 each year for charity,” Ms Mattingly said.

She was delighted to be supporting Camp Quality this year, saying the organisation did amazing work with children.

The Camp Quality South camps are held in Kelvin Heights, Queenstown, and involve a week-long, fun and inclusive programme, in which the children are well supported. The camps are free for the children to attend.

Recipients of funds from last year’s Dunedin Host Lions Club garage sale, Pregnancy Help and SuperGrans, have made good use of the support.

Pregnancy Help manager Chris Ottley  said the organisation had used the $1500 it received to buy hundreds of balls of soft merino wool, for its volunteer knitters to make into warm baby garments.

"A big part of what we do is helping to keep babies warm, so having this lovely wool to work with is great,” she said.

Pregnancy Help has operated in Dunedin since 1983, helping thousands of families.

In the past year, Pregnancy Help has provided practical support to 1741 whānau in Dunedin, including providing 57,076 items of clothing and baby supplies.

This has included woollen items valued at almost $5000 to keep babies warm.

SuperGrans also received $1500 from last year’s garage sale, putting the money towards a a dedicated upright freezer for storing meals ready to share with the community.

SuperGrans manager Philippa Wright  said the organisations undertook many different activities, “but food is our love language”.

SuperGrans community cooking team held regular “cook-ups”, taking donated food and turning it into nutritious meals, which could be shared through other organisations.

SuperGrans also hosts free learn-to-cook classes, along with sewing and crafts activities.

The Dunedin Host Lions Club is collecting items for sale in its October 17 garage sale, and would welcome donations of suitable goods (must be able to fit inside a car).

People with items to donate are welcome to contact the club on 027 455 8201.