Give a little, get a lot: Woman hosts give-away
Photo
Joanne Higgins, left, her daughter Emily, and her husband Jared work on sorting out bins of donated items including clothes and stuffed animals in their garage in Janesville. The family will be giving away free stuff out of their driveway this weekend.
Photo
Joanne Higgins and her family will be giving away free stuff out of their driveway this weekend. Items include donated stuffed animals.
JANESVILLE — Joanne Higgins was inspired by her newspaper.
"I deliver the Gazette, and I read the paper every day before I go," Higgins said. "In the last month, there's been so many stories about people in need. The Coats for Kids people were almost begging for donations."
So Higgins decided to do a little giving herself.
Last weekend, she put a variety of items in her driveway at 1152 N. Pontiac Drive and put up a sign that said "Free."
"The first day, it was a little difficult," Higgins said. "People were trying to hand me money."
The basics went first: clothes, blankets, towels and dishes.
"There was one blanket that was just folded; it was still warm from the dryer when it was taken away," Higgins said.
Higgins and her fiancé, Jared Holcomb, and their children—David, Emily, Chase and Anna—all were involved. They went through their things, adding gently used household items and toys to the piles.
Higgins was touched that people seemed to take only what they needed, and many returned with donations of their own.
"I almost cried," Higgins said. "I came out of the house in the morning and somebody had left three trash bags of clothes in the driveway, and some of them looked like they hadn't even been worn."
One woman was on her way to Goodwill when she saw Higgins sign and dropped her things off there instead.
"I usually take my things to Goodwill, too," Higgins said. "But right now, there's a lot of people who can't even afford Goodwill."
Higgins plans to hold her free giveaway again Saturday and Sunday.
She is encouraging friends, family and complete strangers to donate to the cause.
"Blankets, towels, coats and dishes seem to be in the highest demand," Higgins said.
Anything that is left over will be donated to the Red Cross or other charity groups that do not charge for items.
TO PARTICIPATE
Joanne Higgins is holding a free "garage sale" Saturday and Sunday at her home, 1152 N. Pontiac Drive, Janesville. She is looking for donations of clean, gently used items, especially children's clothes, towels and blankets. Items should be dropped off outside of her garage door.
