Series 7 - Relief Sales

Relief Sales

The first Relief Sale was held on September 12, 1970 at the Matsqui Fairgrounds near Clearbrook. In 1971 it was moved to bigger facilities in the Chilliwack Fairgrounds where it remained for 16 years. Then in 1988 it was moved back to Abbotsford where it was first held at the Abbotsford Exhibition Park and more recently at the Tradex (Fraser Valley Exhibition and Centre).

In preparation for the annual relief sales three or four fund raising banquets are held for the purpose of covering the costs associated with the sales event. Later advertising is done and committees of volunteers are engaged in preparations for the event itself. The sale begins on Friday evening with ethnic foods such as vereniki and sausage being big sellers. Saturday morning begins with a delicious breakfast of pancakes, sausage and other tasty items.

For sale during the event are items ranging from home baked goods, woodwork items, needlework, books, clothing, furniture to a variety of garden and orchard products. One of the most exciting events of the day is the popular auction of locally made quilts along with an assortment of other special items that have been donated. In recent years relief sales have also been held in the Okanagan, Prince George and Black Creek. Income from the sales in1988 amounted to over $175,000 while in 2008 it amounted to over $800,000 largely designated for overseas relief.

Sources: Footprints of Compassion edited by Helen Lescheid.

(Below is an expanded account of MCC Relief Sales written by Angelika Dawson for the Festival of Praise, September 20, 2009 at the Emmanuel Mennonite Church, Abbotsford, BC.)

History of the MCC Abbotsford Relief Sale

The first MCC Relief Sale was held at the Matsqui Fairgrounds near Clearbrook on September 12, 1970. The skies had threatened rain that day, but that did not deter nearly 5600 people from attending. The rains held off, the sky cleared and by mid afternoon, nearly 4000 auction items had been hauled away and $20,754 had been raised.

The event was organized by a planning committee spearheaded by Jacob P. Rahn. Sixteen meetings, three regional banquets (2000 tickets sold at $3 a plate) and lots of advertising in churches, with posters and on radio ensured that the event would be a success.

The following year the Relief Sale was moved to the Chilliwack Fair Grounds where it remained for 16 years. It moved back to Clearbrook in 1968 to provide a more central location. In 2002, it was moved to its current home at the Abbotsford Tradex and attracts more than 20,000 people each year.

Over the years, there have been other changes as well. It’s gone from being strictly an auction to a festival that includes musical entertainment, great food and activities for children. A silent auction and children’s auction have been added. Crafts booths and souvenir mugs are on the growing list of things to purchase. The menu still has borscht, sausage and vereniki but also includes African dodo and Mexican tacos more accurately reflecting the ethnic diversity within our Mennonite constituency. Youth share their excitement for the coming weekend on the Facebook pages. MCC Relief sales have expanded to Prince George and Black Creek.

But despite the changes, some things have stayed the same. The anticipation and participation of young and old alike. Volunteers who work year round to prepare items for sale and auction. Old friends meeting to swap news and eat great food together. Returning customers surging forward to their favourite booths before their specialty is sold out. The musical sounds of the auctioneer’s calls as bidders raise their cards to purchase that beautiful quilt. The knowledge that all this fun is making an enormous difference in the life of a person in need because all the proceeds will go to the ministry of Mennonite Central Committee, done in the Name of Christ, through more than 1400 workers in 58 countries around the world.
And what does that difference look like?

Over 40 sales, MCC has raised more than $10,127,492.00 to which we can add the total brought in by this year’s Festival.

That has translated into hundreds of thousands of school kits, health kits, relief kits and newborn kits.

Millions of litres of clean water for villages, schools, farms and homes by means of cisterns, irrigation systems, and wells.

Thousands of pounds of emergency food provided in times of flood, famine, earthquake, and cyclone. Hundreds of thousands of comforters and blankets sent to give warmth and comfort.

Thousands of children who have been able to go to school through MCC’s Global Family program.

Thousands of men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS who have received vital medicine and the comfort, love and support of a care-giver.

Hundreds and hundreds of families who have received trauma counseling and peace education after experiencing the turmoil of conflict and war.

Thousands of North American voluntary service workers who have shared their lives with people overseas and come back forever changed by their experience.

And that’s just this sale, which is one of 3 in this province, one of 45 similar sales held each year all over North American, which in 2007 alone raised $5.5 million. Think about that for a moment!

MCC Festivals, Fairs and Sales are, in a way, the very best example of community coming together for a common cause, bringing the gifts they have, to give out of what has been given. Your simple participation in this wonderful event means that it’s possible to relieve some of the human suffering in this world. And I can’t think of a better way to do it than this. Can you?

Written and presented by Angelika Dawson

Files 1&2 are in Box 20 with Women's Auxiliary