Friends in college, two Polk County women reconnected a few years later at church and discovered they had a common goal: starting a business that involved giving back to the community.

They have realized that goal in Acorns to Oaks, billed as an “upscale children’s consignment event and expo.”

Chassity Franey and Melissa Bittinger have scheduled their first event for March 22-24 in the ministry center at First Baptist Church of Bartow. They plan to have two seasonal events a year offering baby and children’s items, toys, and clothes up to size 16, plus maternity clothes, strollers, shoes, bedding, baby gear, books, games, videos and DVDs.

Consignors can earn 70 percent of the item’s sale price. All registration is done online at the website, www.acornstooakssale.com. It costs $10 to register to sell. Each consignor receives a number and password and enters a description and price for each item, then prints out bar-coded tags and attaches them to the items. The seller is required to clean and iron clothes and place them on plastic hangers and clean any toys or other items.

“Upscale” doesn’t necessarily mean high-priced brands, but quality: no holes, missing buttons or stains, the women explained. Toys and other items should be in working condition, and have batteries if needed. Bittinger and Franey emphasized that the event is “not a yard sale.”

Items are dropped off by appointment only on Thursday, March 22, from 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. A pre-sale for volunteers, vendors and consignors is held that evening from 6-8 p.m. The sale opens to the public at 10 a.m. Friday, March 23, and runs until 7 p.m. On March 24 the sale is open from 8 a.m.-3 p.m., with a half-off sale from 4-6 p.m. Consignors have the choice of whether to put their items in the half-off sale, and also whether or not to donate their items that don’t sell. If not, they have to pick up their items Saturday evening.

Consignors may check the Acorns to Oaks website to see what was sold, and will receive a check for their sold items within 14 days, the women said.

Consignors don’t have to attend the sale, but they and others may volunteer to help at the event and be eligible for the pre-sale, as are pregnant women and those with babies 12 months or younger. Each volunteer shift is four hours. Duties include checking in merchandise, setting up and working the sales floor, greeting customers, checkout, security, and post-sale sorting. Men are welcome to volunteer since some muscle will be needed, too. Volunteers will get breakfast, lunch or dinner, too, depending on their shifts.

In addition to the sale, the event features an expo from
11 a.m.-2 p.m. with vendors and activities like Fun Faces for kids. The first 250 shoppers will each get a gift bag with goodies from local businesses.

No entry fee is charged, but a nonperishable food item is requested for donation to the First Baptist Church Food Pantry. That is one of three Compassion Campaign partners the women chose for this first event. The others are KidPack Polk Project, which provides food for homeless students on weekends, and the Women’s Care Center in Bartow. After the sale all of the donated unsold clothing, toys, and items will be donated to organizations that can use them to help others in need.

The Compassion Campaign is “mine and Melissa’s heart,” Franey said. The two were students and graduates together at Southeastern University where they were involved in lots of activities and “planned events constantly.”

Franey, of Lakeland, was principal at New Life Christian School, part of Teen Challenge, for seven years before becoming a stay-at-home mom after the birth of her second child. She and husband Michael
have a daughter, Kierstyn, 4, and son, Kameron, who is
7 months.

Bittinger, of Bartow, works out of her home as a medical transcriber. She and husband Charlie, also have two children: Dylan, 3, and daughter Peyton, 1.

As their lives got busier after college, the two didn’t see each other much, but reconnected at Bartow First Assembly of God. They were both looking for a business that involved giving back. They had been to similar consignment events and did a lot of research. The twice-a-year sale and expo is flexible, not confining them to a shop, and was good for consignors and shoppers. “It really was a good fit,” Bittinger said.

They launched Acorns to Oaks at the November Friday Fest in Downtown Bartow. They have a Facebook page that offers a contest to award a gift certificate and a website that provides everything a consignor needs to know, including a tip sheet on pricing and a guide to item preparation. The partners urge consignors to sign up early. For more information, visit the site at www.AcornsToOaksSale.com.