BY KEELIN EVERLY-LANG for WEEKLY VOLCANO | 7/31/2026
Yard sale enthusiasts and Tacomans who love a good cause, mark your calendars for Aug. 15 for the Stadium Community Yard Sale.
The sale will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the parking lot of First Presbyterian Church, 20 Tacoma Ave. S.
A few years ago, Pastor Eric Jacobsen challenged his congregation to think outside the box about how to help combat loneliness in the neighborhood. The result was two initiatives that helped people get engaged.
The first was My Stadium Home, a quarterly litter pickup around the Stadium Business District where volunteers are separated into small teams for conversation while helping to improve the neighborhood. The second was the Stadium Community Yard Sale.
Rebecca Chapman is the original organizer and shared with Weekly Volcano that the structure of the event is based on the concept of a British car boot sale, “boot” being the term for the trunk of a vehicle.
Sellers can pack their cars with unwanted items, drive to the specified location, unload, and sell in a central location with others.
Chapman lived in England for a number of years and loved attending car boot sales. Having a large number of vendors in one central location made it easy for shoppers to bargain-hunt without traveling all over the city. Recognizing that many people in the Stadium District and surrounding area find it difficult to host a yard sale, she discussed the idea of hosting something similar with First Presbyterian Church staff.
Pastor Eric Jacobsen has been very supportive of the event, she said, and most of the volunteers have come from the church congregation.
The event also seemed like a great opportunity to raise funds for a local cause. The church was already a financial supporter of Coffee Oasis, and a few church members have personal links with the organization, Chapman said.
Coffee Oasis is a local charity that runs Tacoma’s only youth shelter and a drop-in center at 1424 Tacoma Ave. S.
Having the opportunity to raise funds for Coffee Oasis was a no-brainer for Chapman when the idea was floated.
“We are thrilled to be working with such a valuable local organization to help increase awareness of its work with youth and to raise additional funding for its programming,” she said.
The first year, the goal was to raise $500 for Coffee Oasis, but organizers were “blown away by the generosity of people” when the event quadrupled that goal and raised $2,000.
The money comes from the sale of donated items and vendor stall reservations. For the past two years, organizers have been able to raise $4,000 annually.
Neighbors who wish to sell their items at the Stadium Community Yard Sale are asked to preregister to reserve their spaces and make a minimum $10 donation to Coffee Oasis.
Each seller is allocated two parking spaces at First Presbyterian Church. The general idea is to park in one space and use the car’s trunk as table space. The additional parking space allows the seller to spread out. Sellers keep any profits.
Each July, First Presbyterian Church starts collecting donated items to be sold on behalf of Coffee Oasis. These typically include smaller household and personal items collected from generous community and church members.
Most items will be sold unpriced, and shoppers are encouraged to make reasonable offers.
“We want those shopping to have a fun experience. We don’t want to price anyone out of either selling or shopping. We hope that those buying from the Coffee Oasis area get a good deal, but that they also are generous in donating to a worthy and much-needed charity supporting our young people,” Chapman said.
Youth homelessness has been a major focus in Pierce County this year and a significant challenge for years.
Tacoma Public Schools has a high rate of McKinney-Vento students, with 1,468 identified as homeless in the 2025-2026 school year, according to the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
The McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless children as “individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence,” rather than restricting the definition to those who are living unsheltered.
This definition makes sure that those who are couch surfing, sleeping in cars, or living in other unstable housing situations do not fall through the cracks.
Coffee Oasis is one organization working to provide safe spaces, support, and opportunities for young people facing these types of challenges.
The organization runs four coffee shops and has partnered with several local, state, and community organizations to continue funding youth programming.
In June 2023, the Tacoma Coffee Oasis coffee shop opened at 1424 Tacoma Ave. S. This location already hosted the Loft, a 12-bed, DCYF-licensed shelter serving youth ages 13 to 17.
The remodeled building now includes a youth drop-in center and the coffee shop. The drop-in center serves youth and young adults ages 13 to 25 and provides necessary amenities such as laundry facilities, clothing, and showers.
“Everyone we have spoken with about the sale thinks it is a great idea,” Chapman said, but she added that it can sometimes be challenging to get people to understand the concept of a joint yard sale operated out of people’s cars.
While it is not an extremely common setup, Chapman said she spoke to organizers of a Junk in the Trunk event held by Pierce County Parks at the Sprinker Recreation Center in previous years to get some ideas.
“We are working with a smaller area and less marketing power. But we are also targeting smaller sellers who may only have a carload of items to sell,” Chapman said of the unique position of the sale.
While Chapman has now stepped down as the primary organizer, First Presbyterian Church is still supporting the annual yard sale.
New organizer and First Presbyterian Church member Sue Sauders has volunteered at the yard sale since its inception and enthusiastically took over its administration to keep the community event going, Chapman said.
This year, event spaces sold out more than a month ahead of the sale. Interest from repeat vendors and word-of-mouth promotion have made the sale popular among local yard sale enthusiasts.
While there are no more spots for community members to set up their own pop-up yard sales, organizers are still accepting donations for the section dedicated to raising funds for Coffee Oasis.
They cannot accept clothing, shoes, textiles, furniture, or large appliances in that area, but they welcome a wide variety of other items.
Any unsold items from this area will be donated to a local thrift store or another charitable organization to resell, according to the event website. To arrange a donation drop-off, contact First Presbyterian Church at churchadmin@fpctacoma.org to schedule a time during business hours.
More information can be found at stadiumcommunityyardsale.wordpress.com or on the event’s Facebook page.
