Church Gives Back By Giving Away

One local church is turning the idea of weekend garage sales upside down. On Saturday, people picked up everything from spare t-shirts to refrigerators, all without dropping a penny.

As News On 6's Jeffrey Smith reports, some members say the event is needed now more than ever.

As more Americans are forced to tighten their belts, one Green Country church is giving away everything but the kitchen sink.

"Everybody that comes in is able to take anything they want. Whether it's a TV, or whether it's a refrigerator, or whether its clothes or books, they get to take it for free," said Kelley Cole, event organizer.

It's called Share Day. People at Heritage Methodist Church in Broken Arrow were given two shopping bags. Whatever they stuffed inside, they kept.

"I got some t-shirts, a couple-button downs, that's about it. So, it's basically whatever you can stuff in those bags," said David Ledoux, Share Day shopper.

David Ledoux is looking for extra lounging-around-the-house clothes. His son has a different idea.

"He's been bugging me, ‘let's go see the toys, let's go see the toys,'" said Ledoux.

They have plenty of toys too. People with extra, drop-off. People in need, pick-up.

"I just came to look around and see if anything caught my eye," said Art Shinault, Share Day shopper.

The day-long giveaway brought more than 1,000 people. That's hundreds more than last year.

"At 6:30 this morning, we had 30 people standing in line already," said Cole.

With the rising cost of living, the big stuff is in high demand.

"We had a family, actually 2 or three families, that called this year and said we were blessed by the event last year, and now we're in a little better situation now than our situation last year. So, they've done return donations," said Cole.

"It's a good idea. It's like giving back to the community," said Shinault.

Giving back, by giving away.