By 8 a.m., Councilwoman Brooke Marcotte had already given out over half their donated items at her annual Garage Giveaway Event. She was shocked by the sheer number of people who came so early.

“We had a line forming 30 minutes before we were ready to start, so we opened 15 minutes early!” Marcotte said at the event.

Normally, Marcotte uses her two tables, but they needed more because of how many donations they received. Marcotte reached out to her neighborhood through their Facebook group, and within minutes, she had all the tables she needed.

“It feels good to know they trust us enough to just lend them out without asking much,” Marcotte said.

On the day of the event, Marcotte “employed” the help of six Junior Beta Club members Esme’ Badeaux, A’mar Polk, Daniel Calvert, Parker Marcotte, Thomas Hull and Courlyn Derouen. Esme’ and A’mar go to Loreauville Elementary while the others attend Daspit Elementary. Many of the Beta students Marcotte “employed” are involved in sports such as baseball.

Thomas lives across the street from Marcotte. He values his time in Beta, often trying to get his twin brother to join.

“It really feels good to help people in the community,” Thomas said.

Another volunteer, Esme’, said she was glad to have an opportunity to help those in need.

“It’s important because we are helping people who can’t buy themselves these things,” Esme’ said.

At first, Marcotte was mildly concerned with having kids volunteer because she said she likes to have a solid grasp on the situation, and the kids added several unpredictable variables.

“You know, they like to run around and have a good time. Many of them play baseball together, so they aren’t used to being together and not being super active,” Marcotte said.

Everything worked out, as the kids proved to be incredibly diligent about their duties. Marcotte said the garage event was a major success and looks forward to potentially re-adding the mid-year garage event.