CRANBERRY TWP — A church basement sale has mushroomed in eight years into an event where in-need parents can supply their children with quality clothing for the school year and maybe pick up a few nice items for themselves.

The annual Closet Classic will be at the Cranberry Community United Presbyterian Church, 2662 Rochester Road, during the middle two weekends in August.

Kelly Stebor, who organizes the event with fellow church member Nancy MacFarlane, said more than 30,000 items will be on sale.

Men's, women's, children's and infant clothing, cocktail and wedding gowns, sporting goods, coats, belts, hats, shoes, books and DVDs and more are being sorted, hung, folded and priced by 100 volunteers, Stebor said.

She said donations are accepted from 7 to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday at the church. However, cribs, car seats, tube TVs, computer monitors, mattresses and liquids are not accepted, she said.

Stebor said beginning in June, volunteers spend two hours Monday through Friday evenings, plus three hours two mornings per week, sorting the items.

Once items are piled in categories, volunteers begin inspecting each item for stains, tears or other imperfections.

Once sorted, the items are given a blank price tag, hung or folded and placed on the large racks or shelves that fill the entire basement of the large church.

Stebor said it then takes about a dozen volunteers seven or eight, eight-hour days to price the merchandise.

The packed double-sided rack holding two levels of children's clothing in one of the Sunday school rooms measures 24 feet, and folded infant clothing is neatly stacked on tables around the room's perimeter.

Separate Sunday school rooms were necessary this year for the boys' and girls' infant clothes and shoes, respectively. The girls room contains more than 100 pairs of infant shoes.

“And they're all $2,” Stebor said.

An alcove contains stacked milk crates displaying more than 150 pairs of used children's shoes.

“We have families who do all of their back-to-school shopping here,” Stebor said.

Fellowship Hall contains men's and women's clothing. Adult shoes, belts, hats and coats are also available in the large room.

The books for adults are alphabetized and categorized, as are the DVDs and VHS tapes lining the rear wall of another Sunday school room. A separate room houses a selection of baby and children's books.

“We try to make it as easy for people to shop as possible,” Stebor said.

During the sale, Stebor said 20 volunteers work to restock the racks and shelves.

The church's first floor will have a large flea market, and a cafe will offer snacks and meals.

Stebor said the basement sale started as a fundraiser for the church's mission and outreach programs, which is where the event's proceeds still go.

“After the first year, I saw the need for good, quality clothing at reasonable prices,” Stebor said.

She said the Closet Classic raised $24,000 last year, the highest total in eight years.

“The amazing thing is, it's all from a lot of $1 and $2 items,” Stebor said.

Gretchen Peterson, a church member who has served as a Closet Classic team leader for four years, said, “I think it's important to provide the service for the church, and it's great for the community. Plus it's fun. It's a nice group of people I work with.”

Stebor said some appreciative shoppers return to volunteer at the sale the next year, and others turn up year after year.

“It's like old home week,” Peterson said. “We get a lot of hugs.”

Regarding items left over after the sale, Stebor said Paperbacks for Prisoners retrieves unsold books, helpthemplay.org picks up the extra sports equipment and Genesis Pregnancy takes leftover maternity and infant clothes and items.

Although the Closet Classic grows each year and creates more work, Stebor said, “We love doing the sale. We have a lot of fun.”

<B>What: </B>Closet Classic and indoor flea market<B>Where: </B>Cranberry Community United Presbyterian Church, 2662 Rochester Road, Cranberry Township<B>When: </B>8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Aug. 8 and 15; 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 9 and 16; noon to 6 p.m., Aug. 10Community donation drop-off: 7 to 9 p.m. Monday through July 31 in back of churchThe event provides affordable, quality clothing for families and raises funds for church mission and outreach projects.