My Tossed and Found Experience

When I was a new member (in 2003-2004), I volunteered for my new member shift at Tossed & Found move in day at the previous site, Tuesday Morning in Rockville. It was cold, dirty, wet and my first assignment was to sweep the floor and clean it up as best I could. Within an hour, I was covered head to toe in dirt and dust, with water spots from the leaking ceiling. An hour later I found myself working the book section with 3 other new members- Angie Quinn (my best friend from college), Kim O’Connor Tuomey, and Elisabeth Somerville. Angie and I met Kim and Elisabeth the first time that day in books…at one point I said to the other three, “Who would ever want to be on this committee?” They of course agreed….

A few years later, I received a call from nominating to be the Chair for Tossed & Found’s 2010 sale. For some reason I said yes…even with doubts and memories of my first Tossed & Found experience at Tuesday Morning on my mind. Turns out the great site that Vornado has donated in Crystal City for the past 7 years is nothing like Tuesday Morning and it gets better with each year. This year, Tossed & Found has a new site at 251 18th Street South, 5th Floor, Arlington, VA 22202- with windows!

It turns out that thanks to that dreadful morning at the Tuesday Morning site, Kim, Angie, Elisabeth and I are extremely great friends today. I returned for a second stint as Chief of Staff. Kim is a co-chair for the 2013 sale and Angie for the 2014 sale. We all love T&F for the camaraderie, the satisfaction of seeing a warehouse full of piles of clothes, kitchen items and furniture all transform into a neatly organized store and lots of low dollar purchases can all add up to over $120,000 for JLW’s literacy initiatives.

I hope to see you at T&F this weekend or if you are unable to make the sale, please consider purchasing a Community Cash Card! Your donation provides a JLW Community Partner, a Neighbor In Need, or Community Organization of your choice the opportunity to purchase $40 worth of items at our 2013 sale.

Amber Huffman
Tossed and Found, Chief of Staff

Community Cash Cards make an impact

If you ever wondered what the Tossed and Found Community Cash Cards can do for the JLW community partners, I have a great success story for you! Two vans from Community Family Life Services arrived bright and early to take advantage of the great shopping. Thanks to the cash cards, 9 of the 16 CFLS families were able to obtain much needed items for their homes and families.

Overheard in each space – “I wish I had started in the other room, there is so much we need!” Small appliances, clothing, furniture, utensils and other kitchen items as well as baby clothing and accessories were snapped up by the women. Many of the kids were able to come, and pick out toys. One little boy even got his first bike!

The families and CFLS employees were so grateful for the opportunity to shop and fulfill their needs for both individuals and the organization. Thanks to the Tossed and Found volunteers and the donations of the cash cards, the JLW was able to make a huge impact for CFLS!

Loading the vans

Happy shoppers