By JENNY SHARP

Community groups employ a number of techniques to engage the public and fund their charitable operations. There are auctions, raffles, local concerts, and, in the case of the Bedford Mosholu Community Association (BMCA), flea markets.

On Saturday, March 7 the BMCA will once again host its flea market fundraiser in the hopes of refilling its yearly budget. But it’s first relying on the public to donate knickknacks, tchotchkes and other items prior to the event held at St. Mary’s Orthodox Church, 360 Bedford Pk. Blvd. near Decatur Avenue. Everything, except clothing, is accepted and appreciated.

At the BMCA Feb. 4 meeting, Barbara Stronczer, the group’s president and the flea market’s lead organizer, emphasized that any donation helps, even a cup or a plate. “If you have toys that you don’t use anymore or dishes–it doesn’t have to be a set, a couple of plates or glasses, please wrap them up and come and visit us,” said Stronczer.

The BMCA is a community organization that has been active in the Bedford area since 1975. It holds meetings on the first Wednesday of every month, providing a public forum for anyone and everyone with an opinion on local matters and a desire to voice it. The group also facilitates volunteering opportunities, mainly park cleanups.

However, the BMCA provides these services with a relatively small budget. The flea market is their only fundraiser, with monies used throughout the year on utilities and upkeep of their headquarters.

A flea market is an event that engages the public on multiple levels, allowing Bronx residents to purge themselves of the old, acquire the new, and support community projects simultaneously.

But this success is contingent upon volunteers. The flea market itself exists each year due to collaboration. It relies on the posting of fliers by group members, on the generosity of Bedford residents as donors and buyers, and on the collective power of word of mouth.

“We need a lot of help,” said Stronczer. “It’s not a one or two person thing.”

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.