Potpourri
Mark your calendars for the big sale on April 20, 2024
from 7:30 am - 1 pm.
As always, there is no admission fee.
What is Potpourri?
Potpourri is the most anticipated event of the JBS school year: the annual 500+ family
garage sale held each spring in the field house. What began over 50 years ago to
sustainably engage John Burroughs School with the wider St. Louis community continues
today with a bargain-filled sale in April each year. The collaborative effort of parents,
grandparents, alumni, faculty, staff, and students brings excitement and energy to
campus the entire week leading up to the sale. From move-in day to student activities to
the BIG sale, preparation for this huge event takes the entire school year and, literally,
hundreds of JBS volunteers.
How Does It Happen?
Potpourri collects, sorts, packs, and stores donations for the sale from August through
April. Donations are accepted in the white trailer parked in the Clayton Road lot adjacent
to the Athletic Center. Approximately every two weeks donations are sorted boxed by JBS parent volunteers, and taken to storage.
Sort! Sort! Sort!
"Sorting" is the year-round process of receiving, processing, packing, and storing our
donations for the big sale in April. We couldn't do any of this without JBS parent volunteers! Sorting consists of unloading donations from the trailer, building-filling-labeling boxes of donations for storage, organizing donations by "department", and wrapping/packing oddly-sized or breakable donations. See sort dates for JBS parent volunteers below.
Saturday Sale & Non-Profit Access
The Saturday Sale is the exciting culmination of all our hard work. Hundreds of people
converge on the field house, sometimes lining up before sunrise, to have first dibs on the
field house treasures. Watching the field house doors open and seeing the crowd stream
through is thrilling. Potpourri is not to be missed! As part of our commitment to
sustainability and community engagement, it has long been tradition for area nonprofits
to have access to the field house after the sale before takedown begins. This provides an
opportunity for area organizations to utilize things that serve their mission and continue
to make a positive impact in the greater St. Louis community.
WAYS TO DONATE
We will be accepting donations beginning August 28, 2023.
Look for the potpourri Trailer in the Clayton Road parking lot, adjacent to the Athletic Center.
You may also bring your items directly to the Sort Room during donation sorts.
Please do not leave your items outside the trailers or the Sort Room. Please do not put large furniture in the trailers - see below for furniture donation options.
We will accept donations directly to the Field House April 15-17, 2024.
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THE POTPOURRI COMMITTEE
CO-CHAIRS: Natasha Boekholt, Stephanie Martin & Ola Bamimore
Contact the co-chairs to volunteer and get involved!