Hey there Patch readers!  I'm a new blogger here at the Patch and I'll probably be blogging about things like photography and community events and all sorts of stuff, but I knew right away what I wanted my first post to be about.  I'm part of a church in Woburn called GENESIS and about a week ago we had probably our biggest event of the year—The Great Giveaway!  It was such a fun event, and I just wanted to tell you all about it :)

The whole idea behind The Great Giveaway is that we feel that God has blessed us with a lot of wonderful gifts, the greatest of these being salvation through Christ—and He gives all these gifts freely.  So, we felt called to also give in the same way.  The Great Giveaway is a small expression of God's generosity.  It's basically a big yard sale where everything is FREE, no strings attached.

We started The Great Giveaway last year, so this was the 2nd annual.  Last year's event was awesome and we had probably 300-400 people come.  This year's was even better!  Over 50 volunteers worked countless hours to prepare, promote, set-up, run and clean-up the event.  We gave away thousands of items from clothing, to furniture, to kids toys, to books, to microwaves and TVs, printers, bicycles, plates, shoes, skis, and more!  There was a Kids Fun Zone inside the church where kids could play games for prizes, have their faces painted, or jump in the giant bouncy house.  Plus there were free hotdogs, popcorn, and bottled water.  And... a free raffle for a $250 Visa Gift Card!!  It took place from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, May 21st, and in those 2 hours, over 500 people came! 

It was so cool to be a part of something like this, and it's just one of the many reasons I love my church community.  Did any of you go to The Great Giveaway?!  I'd love to hear what you thought of the event!  Did you get anything you really needed or just love?!  How did you hear about it in the first place?  I'm thoroughly curious :) 

Hopefully we'll do it all again next year, and those of you who couldn't make it this time can come!