92 Bag Day Is Aug. 4
Noah’s Ark summer clearance, plan to wait
Popular Bag Day at Noah’s Ark on Sanibel is Aug. 4, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. An annual event for the island thrift shop, which is operated by the Women of St. Michael’s & All Angels Episcopal Church, it attracts scores of customers armed with shopping bags purchased at the door for $4 each. Patrons shop 'til they drop on this red-letter day and walk away with as many items as the bags will carry.
Items too large for the bags are 80 percent off the regular price. Deep reductions are also offered in the two weeks prior to Bag Day. According to Lee Williams, chair of operations, so many donations come routinely into the shop that merchandise is stacked against the wall, “like a mountain, as high as the ceiling. Just when we start to make progress sorting, the bags pile up again,” she says.
Williams reports that up to 20 volunteers are needed to handle the high customer volume. “It is a labor-intensive operation,” she says.
Noah’s Ark provides support to approximately 15 island charities, and it has joined with Episcopal Relief and Development to reduce poverty worldwide. “We have some overhead costs―utilities, trash, hauling and deliveries―but beyond that, all proceeds go to charity,” Williams says.
Bag Day marks the end of the summer season for Noah’s Ark. The shop is closed Aug. 5-Oct. 2 for cleaning, restocking and repair, reopening Oct. 3. In November, full business hours resume, weekdays and the first Saturday of each month, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Details about Noah’s Ark and Bag Day are at 239-472-2173/ saintmichaels-sanibel.org. The church is at 2304 Periwinkle.