Catholic school to feature 27 vendors on Small Biz Saturday

Published 9:45 am Friday, November 28, 2014

St. Theodore Catholic School will be offering a new fundraiser this year that ties into Small Business Saturday.

The fundraiser, called Small Business Saturday Shopaholic Sale-bration, will be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at St. Theodore Catholic School’s Marion Hall.

This indoor shopping event features 27 local vendors. Neda Johnson, an organizer of this event, said some of the vendors include parish members selling latch hook projects; direct sales like Avon and Mary Kay; and artisans like Embellished Dreams.

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Johnson said some of the vendors came to them, as she advertised on social media, and some of the vendors were contacted directly to see if they were interested.

The vendors will keep all of the money from their sales, but the space rental and lunch sales will go to the school for the fundraiser, Johnson said. The school will sell coffee and sloppy joes for lunch.

Johnson said the idea for Small Business Saturday Shopaholic Sale-bration came because the school was looking for new and fresh fundraising ideas. The Knights of Columbus Auxiliary was planning on doing a rummage sale fundraiser for themselves in the summer but it never happened, so Johnson said they asked to spin off of that.

She said the school is running this event in conjunction with Small Business Saturday. Nestled between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday is a shopping day dedicated to supporting local businesses.

Johnson said most of the vendors at the event won’t have a chance to participate in Small Business Saturday as they are businesses without a store front. She said this event gives them that opportunity.

She also said something Albert Lea is trying to push is shopping local, and that this event is a good opportunity to do that.

A number of people have told Johnson this is a great opportunity, and many vendors who didn’t get a chance to participate this year said they would participate in another event like this next year.

If other vendors are interested in participating in Small Business Saturday Shopaholic Sale-bration this year, Johnson said spots are still available. Contact Neda Johnson, 507-383-3631, before Saturday morning to get a spot.