Brief: Soccer Team to Hold 'Mega Garage Sale' Saturday

There is a time-honored rivalry between the girls of Scotch Plains and Westfield who play for their respective high school soccer teams.

But the athletes are coming together this Saturday, April 30, to host a mega-garage sale to raise money for the Central Jersey Stars (CJSTARS), a girls’ soccer club mostly comprising players from both teams, to help defray the costs of a trip to Brazil this summer, according to a press release distributed by the team.

The garage sale is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 241 E. Dudley Ave. in Westfield. The rain date is Sunday, May 1.

The girls have spent weeks rummaging through attics, basements, garages and sheds – looking for any extra items that could perhaps catch the eye of bargain hunters, the press release stated. They have worked together to put up signs, spread the word to friends, family and neighbors and are doing all they can to encourage hundreds to turn out. Parents are also playing a significant role, parting with some items that maybe wouldn’t have been put up for sale so quickly.

With the significant cost of each player to travel to South America, every additional dollar raised can help. Proceeds from the garage sale will also be leveraged to fund donations to the Brazilian communities the girls visit.

Coach Keith Hertell, a 42-year resident of Westfield who founded the Central Jersey Stars in 1984, is taking this talented group of girls to Brazil to expand their horizons on and off the field. This trip will not only hone the team’s soccer skills as they train and play local Brazilian teams, but offer the girls a unique opportunity to participate in community outreach in the towns where they will be playing during the two-week trip.

Hertell has taken teams to Brazil for more than a decade, offering his players an incredible life experience.