An annual, multi-city effort personifying the idiom, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” will start up in South County next month with the “Second Chance Week 2017.”
A series of garage sales, recycling and donation events throughout South County are among the activities encompassing the 15th annual event, which kicks off Sept. 9-10 with the Gilroy Citywide Garage Sale. It culminates with the Sept. 16-17 Morgan Hill/San Martin Citywide Garage Sale.
“Give your used belongings that you don’t need any more a ‘second chance,’” the announcement states.
To register your garage sale for either of the garage sale weekends, visit secondchanceweek.com. Applications are due no later than Sept. 1 for the Gilroy garage sales and no later than Sept. 8 for the Morgan Hill/San Martin garage sales. A full list of participating garage sale addresses will be posted on the website no later than noon the Friday before each weekend.
Second Chance Week is sponsored by the cities of Morgan Hill and Gilroy. For more information, call (408) 310-4169 or visit secondchanceweek.com.
The garage sales “bookend” a full week of events dedicated to making people aware of different ways to reduce, reuse and recycle. Those events are:
• Monday, Sept. 11 is Universal Waste Awareness Day: Properly dispose of consumer electronics, batteries, fluorescent lighting and other mercury containing devices. Drop-off locations include Ace Hardware in Morgan Hill and Gilroy; Westside Recycling (e-waste), 16290 Railroad Ave. in Morgan Hill; Pacific Coast Recycling (e-waste), 5895 Obata Way in Gilroy; and the Santa Clara County HHW program for mercury containing devices. Call (408) 299-7300 for details.
• Tuesday, Sept. 12 is Freecycle Day: Freecycle helps reduce waste by connecting people who are throwing away unwanted items with others seeking the same items. There are Freecycle groups in both Morgan Hill and Gilroy. Visit trashnothing.com and click “Join Now” to sign up.
• Wednesday, Sept. 13 is Donate Coats for Kids & Adults Too Day: Share your unwanted coats with underprivileged children and their parents. Drop off from 8am-5pm at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center, 17000 Monterey Road or Gilroy City Hall, 7351 Rosanna Street.
• Thursday, Sept. 14 is Second Sight Day: Give your old eyeglasses a second chance to serve someone less fortunate. Drop off from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center, 17000 Monterey Road or Gilroy City Hall, 7351 Rosanna Street. The Lions Club will give your eyeglasses a second chance to serve someone who is less fortunate.
• Friday, Sept. 15 is Recycle Your Cycle Day: Donate your gently-used bicycles and we’ll distribute them to local charities. Drop off is at the Morgan Hill Corporation Yard, 100 Edes Court from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. or at Sunshine Bicycles, 311 First Street in Gilroy from 10 a.m.to 5:30 p.m. Both children and adult bicycles will be accepted. Donors are asked to donate bicycles that are functional and can be easily repaired by a mechanic, free of rust or corrosion and clean enough that you would accept it as a gift.
