2020 White Elephant Sale Raises Over $2.4 Million
(OAKLAND, CA) March 25, 2020—The 61st annual White Elephant Sale held on March 7 and 8, 2020, and Preview Sale held January 26, 2020, raised over $2.4 million on behalf of the Oakland Museum of California, proving another successful year for the Sale. Over the past six years, the White Elephant Sale—presented and organized by the Oakland Museum Women’s Board—raised over $2 million each year. A substantial portion of these proceeds supports OMCA for operating and program support each year.
“We were so excited to see that our 61st White Elephant Sale was such a successful event this year,” said Sherry Westernoff, President of the Oakland Museum Women’s Board. “This wouldn’t be possible without all of the hard work and long, long hours put in by over 1,000 dedicated volunteers, preparing for this Oakland tradition.”
“We are so grateful for the Oakland Museum Women’s Board’s extraordinary commitment to OMCA throughout the past 61 years,” said OMCA Director and CEO Lori Fogarty. “As the single largest donor to OMCA, the Women’s Board and their White Elephant Sale are absolutely essential to the success of the Museum, and even more so during these unprecedented times. With the Museum now closed due to COVID-19 and our 50th Anniversary Gala (scheduled for March 14) cancelled, this support is more crucial than ever. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the leadership of the Women’s Board and the hard work of hundreds of volunteers who make the White Elephant Sale possible.”
The annual White Elephant Sale is scheduled to return to the Bay Area the first weekend in March next year. Made possible by donations from the public, the Sale accepts donations of gently used, good quality items year-round. Due to the Alameda County Public Health Department’s current “Shelter in Place” order, the White Elephant Sale has paused donation pickups until the order is lifted. For the latest updates and more information—including a list of items that cannot be accepted—please visit WhiteElephantSale.org.
ABOUT THE OAKLAND MUSEUM WOMEN’S BOARD
The sole purpose of the Oakland Museum Women’s Board (OMWB), a dedicated group with 114 year-round members, has been to raise money to support the Oakland Museum of California acquisitions, exhibitions, educational programs, capital improvements, and more. Since 1959, the OMWB has contributed over $23 million to the Museum. With the help of a thousand dedicated volunteers, they work year round to organize and present the White Elephant Sale held annually during the first weekend in March, which attracts shoppers of all ages from the greater Bay Area and beyond.
ABOUT THE OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA
The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) tells the many stories that comprise California, creating the space and context for greater connection, trust, and understanding between people. Through its inclusive exhibitions, public programs, educational initiatives, and cultural events, OMCA brings Californians together and inspires greater understanding about what our state’s art, history, and natural surroundings teach us about ourselves and each other. With more than 1.9 million objects, OMCA brings together its multi-disciplinary collections of art, history, and natural science with the first-person accounts and often untold narratives of California, all within its 110,000 square feet of gallery space and seven-acre campus. The Museum is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year as a leading cultural institution of the Bay Area and a resource for the research and understanding of California’s dynamic cultural and environmental heritage for visitors from the region, the state, and around the world.
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