The Cupertino Senior Center held its annual Hidden Treasures antique sale on Thursday, Oct. 23, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The sale consisted of several tables that held antiques and donated objects organized into various sections, ranging from plants and trinkets to holiday items and board games. The sale is organized and run by volunteers and raises money for the Cupertino Senior Center’s Stay Active Fund. This provides opportunities to members of the community to obtain memberships and scholarships for classes and programs at the Cupertino Senior Center.
Cupertino Senior Center Recreation Coordinator Amanda Hui says a large amount of work goes into the preparation for the sale, as the volunteers typically schedule their first planning meeting in late July and start taking donations in mid-August. In previous years, there have usually been 30 to 50 volunteers who help organize the event. During the weeks leading up to Hidden Treasures, Monday afternoons are dedicated to sorting and categorizing donations from the community, with volunteers re-boxing items and deciding which items to sell or donate to Goodwill or Salvation Army. For staff like Hui, ensuring the positive experience of the volunteers is a top priority.
“The overall goal is for the volunteers to have a good time, making sure they enjoy helping us with this event and enjoy the atmosphere,” Hui said. “A big part of volunteering is just feeling like the work you’re doing means something, and from a staff perspective, we’re always thankful and grateful for their help.”
Connecting with the attendees of Hidden Treasures is something Hui also appreciates, as she recalls seeing familiar faces every year and even seeing a family who once lived in the area commute several hours in order to attend the sale. Similarly, the connection Hui feels to the attendees extends to her fellow colleagues during the event, forming a sense of community that she feels directly contributes to the success of Hidden Treasures each year.
“In this department, we’re very big on supporting each other with any of our events,” Hui said. “There is always a lead for an event, but as colleagues, we want to support each other because that’s the only way we can make it better and make it a success.”
The support from both volunteers and the department is something that Cupertino Senior Center Recreation Coordinator and Hidden Treasures Event Lead Kris Garcia also believes is essential to the success of the event due to the large turnout they received. However, Garcia also feels that the large attendee turnout and the large amount of donations the volunteers received resulted in the sale feeling a bit frenzied.
“It gets pretty crowded in there, and there are plenty of people that show up to this,” Garcia said. “Then, with the number of items that we have, it gets difficult to create a layout, which could have been a little bit better. That’s for sure something I want to improve in the future.”
Volunteer Jane Okashi agrees with Garcia, as she and other volunteers were continuously trying to replace items as people were buying them. Yet, despite the large quantities of items at her table, Okashi felt that each object added its own unique value. Hui and Garcia also admire the diversity of items the sale continues to receive, with notable items including an original certified Salvador Dali print and a highly expensive portrait of a cow, which Garcia was shocked to see sold.
“It’s an event where you can find almost anything,” Garcia said. “We do have our limits of what we accept, but you’ll find anything from antiques to toys, and even plants. It’s a great community event that’s strictly volunteer-run and goes towards a good cause.”
