Charity reaps reward in 'storage war'

EAST COUNTY — The scene wasn’t as dramatic as its reality-television show counterpart, “Storage Wars.”
But the dozens of prospective buyers who attended a monthly auction held by Value Self Storage, off University Parkway, were eager to find a good buy while supporting a good cause.

The storage business Thursday, Sept. 20, hosted its first “Storage Wars”-style charity auction, during which it auctioned off the contents of three 5-by-10-foot and one 10-by-10-foot storage lockers to benefit the American Cancer Society, Kure It Cancer Research and the Self Storage Association Foundation.

“The ‘Storage Wars’ people started this charity auction, and we wanted to get on board and do something good,” Value Self Storage Operations Manager Jill Robert said, noting the business advertised the charity auction to current and former customers to solicit high-quality donations for the cause.

The four charity units were filled with furniture, antiques from an old gift shop and other items that proved lucrative to prospective buyers. In total, sales from the units earned $1,170.

Several buyers even upped their bid offers by up to $100 at a time, after learning proceeds from the units were going to charity.

“It’s the way it should be,” said buyer Brad Smith, who owns a thrift store and a jewelry shop. “It makes me more inclined to pay more for (the units). I’m big into charity.”

Wayne Shelton agreed.

“It’s a good idea,” he said. “Anything that helps out always is a good thing. A lot of times you just take a shot in the dark (in terms of what you are getting). It’s a lot of fun.”

American Cancer Society representative Lucy Fox stood by as the bidding began and noted the fundraiser would prove a major benefit to the organization. Value Self Storage, she said, already provides the organization with locker spaces and the use of trucks for transporting equipment at no cost.

“(Events like these) help us meet our (fundraising) goals,” she said. “We have free services for patients, and this is how we give it to them. It’s a fun, easy way for us to raise money.”

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].