Hope Of South Texas Garage Sale This Saturday

It's time to show our support for 'Hope of South Texas" and all that they do.

A fundraising garage sale to benefit Hope of South Texas - an advocacy agency for victims of sexual assault - will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at 304 Chama Drive in Victoria. The sale will have "a little bit of everything," including children's books and toys, dishes and adult and children's clothes, Bobbie Edwards, one of the event organizers, told the Victoria Advocate. "Some of the more unusual items include Halloween costumes for both children and adults," Edwards said.

The fundraiser is a way to assist Hope of South Texas after organizers read in the Advocate that the agency did not receive grant funding for the next fiscal year, he said. "We want to be able to give back to them because they do so much for our community," Edwards said. "The donations came from all over. We have a lot of items and invite everyone to come out and support a great cause."

Julie Flessner, executive director of Hope of South Texas, said she and her staff were humbled by the support. Flessner said the organization continues to work with the city of Victoria on some possible funding assistance. The next year will likely be a challenging one for the organization, she said. "Money will get really tight later in the spring and into summer next year," said Flessner. "We are working on a major fundraiser for this fall. It should be a fun and unique event that will hopefully raise enough money to get us by."

Hope of South Texas, founded in 1986, serves six counties in the Golden Crescent region. It operates a 24-hour crisis intervention hotline and includes a children's advocacy center. Hope staff members accompany sexual assault victims and their families to the hospital, to court and law enforcement agencies.