The Franklin County Children’s Task Force holds a free lawn sale outside at 113 Church Street in Farmington on Friday, April 23. Children’s clothing items are organized in bins by age and other items include toys, games and books. Andrea Swiedom/Franklin Journal

FARMINGTON — The Franklin County Children’s Task Force held its first free yard sale of the year on Friday, April 23, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. in front of the office at 113 Church Street. Donated items included books, games, toys and clothing organized in bins by children’s sizes.

“Due to the generosity of the public we are overwhelmed, we are full,” Program Coordinator Milissa Cousins said about the donated items.

To ensure everyone’s safety, a sign-in sheet was posted at the welcome table along with hand sanitizer and a box of disposable masks. Social distancing was practiced while staff assisted people browsing through items.

The Franklin County Children’s Task Force (FCCTF) holds free yard sales throughout the year for anyone to stop by and select items. Staff members recommend checking the task force’s Facebook regularly at https://www.facebook.com/FCCTaskForce for future yard sale dates.

Franklin County Children’s Task Force team, in no specific order, Milissa Cousins, Cheryl Martin, Linda Wyman, Holly Harrington, Bonnie Chapman, Aybine Kalisa, brave the windy Friday morning at the April 23 free lawn sale. Andrea Swiedom/Franklin Journal

Other FCCTF projects include the 21st Century Kids afterschool program which has been offered on a virtual platform during the pandemic, staff member Aybine Kalisa explained while organizing a bin of children’s clothing. Two to four students meet regularly with Kalisa over videochat for tutoring, participating in creative projects and enjoying some additional social time.

The Task Force also provides community-based education such as mandated reporter training which helps adults identify risk factors and indicators of child abuse. There’s also the Protective Factors/Strengthening Maine Families program which focuses on family aspects such as parental resilience, social connections and healthy parent-child relationships. Classes are also held covering topics of a baby’s various developmental stages such as the period of purple crying.

To learn more about the Franklin County Children’s Task Force visit https://fcctf.org/.