14-05-2025
Annual Colossal Sale kicks off at Evangel University
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The Evangel University Advocates are hosting its annual Colossal Sale this week to raise money to benefit Evangel students and staff.
The annual fundraising sale is made up of donated items and items left behind by students after graduation and the end of classes for the summer.
Featuring everything from furniture and clothes to books and games, there is a wide variety of items to choose from.
'The list is endless, but the quality is very good,' said Robert Bartels, a volunteer at the event and the Human Resources Director at Evangel. 'I've been very pleased with the amount of goods that we've had, but the quality of them as well.'
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Bartels says they had a line outside the door waiting to get in and see what items this year's sale had in store. There are plenty of volunteers to help you shop and even carry your finds back to your car.
'Everybody is super nice and helpful here,' said Katelyn Hammons, who was shopping at the sale. 'If they notice your hands are getting too full, they'll come and offer to hold items for you. And everything's super clean and organized too, which is nice.'
Hammons is an Evangel alumna and comes every year with her sister. She says there are always great finds, and it supports the college she graduated from.
'I have a whole bin over there that they're holding. I don't even remember how much is in there right now,' Hammons said. 'It's a really good selection of items. And if you can't get out and garage sale like on the weekends, this is nice. Like a one-stop kind of location.'
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Evangel University Advocates helps fill in the gaps for students and staff. In the past, they helped buy a new kiln for the art department, contributed funds to upgrade the student sand volleyball court, and provided additional materials for some classes.
'We offer grants to our own departments for different projects that they'd like to do stuff that's not in the budget that they'd love to accomplish,' Bartels said. 'Sometimes it's renovation, sometimes it's equipment, sometimes it's putting up a wall where it didn't belong before. So there's all different kinds of things that we've done.'
The Colossal Sale started in 1964 and took a break in 2014, but was revived in 2019 and has been going strong since then. Bartels tells me they couldn't do the sale without the help of their many volunteers.
The sale will be open to the public:
Wednesday, May 14, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Thursday, May 15, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Friday, May 16, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday, May 17, 9 a.m. to noon
Friday, all items will be half-priced, and on Saturday, shoppers can fill a provided paper bag with items for $7.
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