Junior Service League prepares for annual fundraiser at WGTC’s Callaway Conference Center

Published 6:31 pm Wednesday, October 2, 2019

A community tradition dating back 45 years to 1974 will once again happen this coming weekend. 

The Junior Service League has filled the Callaway Conference Center at West Georgia Tech with thousands of items in preparation for Friday and Saturday’s Attic Sale. 

“We prepare for this year-round, and it is always the first Saturday in October,” said Attic Sale co-chair Brittany Calhoun. “It helps serve as a way to fund our other events that we raise money for to serve organizations in the community.”

The service league is encouraging families, bargain hunters and everyone inside and outside the community to shop. 

“They can come in and browse all our items,” Calhoun said. “We have thousands of items that are new and have price tags still on them — trendy items, vintage and antiques.”

Founded in 1973, the Junior Service League of LaGrange is an organization of women committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers.

This year, the league plans to focus its service projects toward Good Samaritan Ministries and Sleep in Heavenly Peace. In September, the JSL donated to the H.O.P.E. for a Day walk focused on Breast Cancer Awareness.

Calhoun said that more than 100 retired service league members and 53 active members have worked tirelessly all week to organize, price and move all the items into the conference center. 

Everything from household décor, beauty, hunting gear, furniture to boutique items has been tagged and organized in multiple rooms of the conference center. 

“We have a regular shopper every year who comes for the pre-sale and sits outside a few hours early,” Calhoun said. “People come ready to shop.” 

Calhoun said her favorite part about the whole event is being able to see the community come together. 

“We are able to do good and give back with this event,” Calhoun said. “Also, you get to see families benefit by possibly being able to buy something, like a bike here, for a Christmas present that they may not have been able to afford elsewhere. One item can be a huge blessing to someone else.” 

The attic sale will begin its pre-sale on Friday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. There will be a $5 admission price for the pre-sale, and all items will be price and a half on all purchases. 

Doors open for an early bird 30-minute pre-sale Saturday morning at 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. with a $5 admission fee. The regular sale opens at 8:30 a.m. with a $1 admission fee and ends at noon.  

“We have people line up early,” Calhoun said. “This is your local Black Friday sale in October.”