Yard Sale for the Divineys Brings Community Together
Thousands packed the Ashburn Village Lakes Center all day Saturday for the decluttering event.
The mega Declutter for the Divineys yard sale, organized to help defray the cost of medical expenses for Ashburn resident Ryan Diviney, drew thousands of people Saturday and caught the attention of Oprah Winfrey's television network. Fellow Ashburn residents Christine LeTourneau and Jane Hofmann created the event to raise money for Ryan's treatment – he suffered a brain injury after being severely beaten while attending West Virginia University in November of 2009.
The outpouring of support resounded throughout the day and the Ashburn Village Lakes Community Center became a gathering place for families both near and far.
Ken Diviney, Ryan’s father, blogged: "What was amazing is that I kept hearing it was so much more than a yard sale. It was a social event. People didn’t want to leave."
The dozens of volunteers made sure that there was plenty for people to do. Among the many toys, clothes, electronics, furniture, books and other items for sale were t-shirts, baked goods, balloon twisters, face painting, music and food. The balloon twisters and face painters donated their services, as did the local Suburban Rush band. The Buffalo Wing Factory sold food and donated 100% of its profits to the event. The entertainment continued throughout the day, including a performance by the Broad Run High School cheerleaders and singing by Sunny Tippel.
And attendees couldn't get enough of the Oprah Winfrey Network’s Peter Walsh, a decluttering master who hosts "Enough Already," the show that inspired the yard sale. Walsh entertained crowds with auctions and motivational speeches, even donning a prom dress to solicit donations. The OWN was on hand taping the event and putting Ashburn on Oprah’s map.
LeTourneau said she was convinced that "Ashburn has been totally decluttered." She even said that people drove from Richmond to donate items for the yard sale. "Every one is touched," she said of the community support.
"A community effort has provided us with the means to write that check that will forward Ryan’s treatment for even longer," Ken Diviney blogged afterward.
All of the leftover yard sale items were donated to charities.
Christine LeTourneau
9:26 am on Monday, April 11, 2011
On behalf of our planning committee, I want to send out a HUGE thank you to all of the volunteers that made this event possible, the good folks of Ashburn & beyond who decluttered & donated, and especially to the businesses that donated so much behind the scenes- in particular Long & Foster in Ashburn, for being the drop off point all of the donations and to all my colleagues who moved them as they came in, JK Moving Services who donated two trucks and two crews to move donations to the venue, to Zippy Shell for donating a pod for us to house donations until the move, and Quality Services Moving who donated a 48 foot truck to house even more donations until the move. Security Public Storage Ashburn who donated lots of boxes, as did Town & Country Movers and the other two moving companies. And also to 123 Junk who rounded up and hauled off all of our "leftovers" (the great thing about them is they donate anything that is "donatable" to charity organizations that they are partnered with). Office Max printed up our banners and directionals, David Smith of Loudoun County Flyer Delivery who printed & distributed fliers, Classic Party Rentals who saved us from the rain with their huge tents & stage, and of course Ashburn Village & the Sports pavillion. It truly was a community effort - and one that was so heartwarming to be part of. I am so proud to be part of this great Ashburn community!
Christine LeTourneau
Jo
12:37 pm on Monday, April 11, 2011
What great and complete coverage of a not-to-be-missed event, Ashburn Patch!
Ashburn, Virginia: A community that all communities should aspire to be like!
Thank you, Ashburn, and all those who in any way supported Declutter for the Divineys.
You are a blessing.
Andrea McSorley
12:37 pm on Monday, April 11, 2011
Christine, you and your girls are true heros! Thank you for organizing and seeing this even through. You are amazing!
Michele Davidson
6:24 am on Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Congratulations to the many volunteers and especially the event coordiantors. I hope folks will continue to come out and support Ryan in other events. The Buffalo Wing Factory Event is 4/23/11 from Open to Close, ALL locations with a portion of sales going to the family. There are awesome raffle items and a 50/50 raffle as well. Hope to see everyone there...
Paula
10:50 am on Thursday, April 14, 2011
Thank you to every person who contributed to the extraordinary success of this event. All who attended could feel the positive energy throughout the entire day. Something magical was happening in Ashburn, and it wasn't just finding good deals!! People were incredibly supportive of the Diviney family, and the ladies who made this happen demonstrated compassion at its absolute finest. Hats off to each and every organizer, volunteer, donater and partipant. You are the kind of people who know how to change the world into something better than it was. Congratulations on an outstanding day!! It is thanks to your hard work that Ryan will have the continued opportunity to overcome the odds and achieve a better quality of life. With my deepest gratitude, Paula