A local retailer is readying for what could be its most successful charity event in history. Kelly Freese, manager of Belk in Lakeland Plaza, said the store will hold its Fall Charity Sale from 6-10 a.m. Saturday. The event, typically held in the fall and spring, invites charitable organizations to sell admission tickets for $5 each. The organizations keep 100 percent of the sales they make prior to the sale, and sales from additional tickets sold the morning of the event are divided among the organizations. “Right now, we have about 38 charities,” Freese said. “Almost every one of them is from Forsyth. It’s everything from high school teams raising money to the humane society to church youth groups. “I’ll tell you [organization leaders] have all said this has been their best ticket sales they’ve had in the history of the sale, so we’ll see if that pays off.” Freese said while she doesn’t have any way to know exactly how many tickets the groups have sold, she said the store gave the group’s around 18,000 tickets. “They’ve been steadily working our tables at our front doors from open to close every day so they seem to be doing very well,” she said. Those attending the sale receive the cost of their ticket back on their first purchase. The first 100 attendees also receive Belk gift cards ranging from $5 to $1,000. Also, the store offers a number of sales in most departments. Freese said charities seem to like to take advantage of the event.“We make it so that it’s very generous for the customers as far as the pricing and it’s just an easy way to raise money because a lot of times with fundraisers you’re waiting on something … but this is an instant thing,” she said. “And the [charities] are free to sell the tickets however they want to.”
A local retailer is readying for what could be its most successful charity event in history. Kelly Freese, manager of Belk in Lakeland Plaza, said the store will hold its Fall Charity Sale from 6-10 a.m. Saturday. The event, typically held in the fall and spring, invites charitable organizations to sell admission tickets for $5 each. The organizations keep 100 percent of the sales they make prior to the sale, and sales from additional tickets sold the morning of the event are divided among the organizations. “Right now, we have about 38 charities,” Freese said. “Almost every one of them is from Forsyth. It’s everything from high school teams raising money to the humane society to church youth groups. “I’ll tell you [organization leaders] have all said this has been their best ticket sales they’ve had in the history of the sale, so we’ll see if that pays off.” Freese said while she doesn’t have any way to know exactly how many tickets the groups have sold, she said the store gave the group’s around 18,000 tickets. “They’ve been steadily working our tables at our front doors from open to close every day so they seem to be doing very well,” she said. Those attending the sale receive the cost of their ticket back on their first purchase. The first 100 attendees also receive Belk gift cards ranging from $5 to $1,000. Also, the store offers a number of sales in most departments. Freese said charities seem to like to take advantage of the event.“We make it so that it’s very generous for the customers as far as the pricing and it’s just an easy way to raise money because a lot of times with fundraisers you’re waiting on something … but this is an instant thing,” she said. “And the [charities] are free to sell the tickets however they want to.”