We judge the first annual Yard Sale for the Cure event to be a resounding success. The Beaches area of Toronto hosted the first event on May 28th, 2005 and proved that the idea can raise a lot of money for breast cancer research and treatment and make an event that helps to drive a further sense of community. This event has provided us with the learning and enthusiasm to provide the foundation for what we hope to be a national event in the years to come.

Just over $43 000 has been distributed to the three charities – Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, The Campbell Family Institute at Princess Margaret Hospital and Toronto East General Hospital – Oncology Unit

Based on comments and feedback, it appears that everyone had lots of people by their yard sale and all the people we spoke to felt great that they would be donating a portion (or all) of their money to help fund the cure for breast cancer. While any one sale might not raise a huge amount of money, combining all of us together into one effort, will have a significant impact in the fight against breast cancer. We also found that people were having fun finding the things they needed as well as getting rid of the stuff they no longer needed. With so much stuff on the street everyone was sure to find a bargain of some sort. It was especially gratifying to hear the stories of people getting to know their neighbours better. There were lots of impromptu BBQ’s and get togethers happening and you could hear that the Beaches was a little noisier than usual that night.

In addition to raising a lot of money and creating a further sense of community, the event has a real impact on conservation. When you think of all those things that were bought from someone and put to good use in a new household, there ends up being a lot of new products that don’t need to be bought (with all the associated packaging) and a bunch of things that might have ended up in a landfill site that are now “doing double duty” in another home.

• 40 volunteers helped to bring the idea to life
• 4 partner companies created all the materials (logo design, advertising, website and interactive, PR plan and execution)
• 10 companies providing free services and materials (printing, soft drinks, chips, chocolate, catering, t-shirts, PR training, etc.)
• $15,000 of start up funding graciously donated
• 357 officially registered Yard Sale hosts
• $45,000 in donations
• Incredible interest from the news media with $1 500 000 worth of media exposure
• Terrific support from the GTA advertising community with over $200 thousand of free advertising secured