The St. Hubert faculty held their yearly flea market on Saturday in the school’s cafeteria to raise money for the faculty scholarship fund.
Community members paid in advance for a table and sold everything from clothing to homemade beauty products to soaps and kitchen supplies.
The faculty scholarship committee, which was put in place about 30 years ago, raises money through events such as the flea market. It then nominates students for the scholarship, which comes to about $750 for the month.
Mary Clifford, chair of the math department and a faculty scholarship committee leader, said the committee typically puts on about 10 fundraising events per year.
“We just pick random students that maybe aren’t going to be the best academically but they’re in a good sport, they’re good in the classroom, one of the ones that would get skipped over because they are not the top of the class. They have some other trait, community service, anything, and financial need, also,” Clifford said.
Amanda Planita, a senior at St. Hubert, received the scholarship in December.
“It was rewarding just because I received something for giving back to the school. I still would have done it even if I didn’t receive a scholarship because I just like serving the community and helping out,” Planita said.
However, according to Clifford, this year’s flea market sustained the record for the lowest turnout.
“We normally have 40-80 vendors,” Clifford said. “The least we’ve had before this year was 43. This year I think we have 25-30.”
The event was canceled last year due to COVID, and this year, the crowds have not returned in full.
Kim Elliot, a Northeast native, said she has been a vendor at this market for the last 10 years. She said flea markets are important for the community because of the discounted items, and she sells necessities like soap for cheap.
“You can get things way cheaper at flea markets and with the way the world is now, some people can’t even afford to eat. So they come to flea markets because they can afford the things,” Elliot said.
Both Elliot and Clifford hope to see the community overall bounce back from COVID and want to see the St. Hubert girls thrive.
“The biggest thing is, be a presence and show your support,” Clifford said. “Just having the community come together, I think it’s a very important thing for us.”
