A local consignment sale that takes place twice a year has been supporting organizations that help children for more than 20 years.

The Lil’ Cherubs Consignment Sale, hosted by Centenary Methodist Church each spring and late summer, features thousands of items of children’s clothing, books, toys and equipment. The upcoming sale is Friday and Saturday, March 8 and 9, at the church, located at the entrance of Millennium Park on Perryville Road. The hours will be 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, and 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Many items will be marked half off on Saturday.

As usual, after each event, sellers receive 70 percent of the profits and Lil’ Cherubs donates the remaining 30 percent to deserving organizations that have requested assistance with funding their programs for children in the area and abroad.

Since each two-day event brings in between $40,000 to $45,000, Lil’ Cherubs is able to donate between $10,000 and $12,000 twice a year to children’s organizations and programs, according to Lil’ Cherubs chair Ann Arnold.

A few of the local organizations supported by the sale include: Kendyl and Friends Foundation, Wilderness Trace Child Development Center, Kentucky School for the Deaf Elementary School, Boyle County and Danville high schools’ Project Graduation events, CASA of the Bluegrass, Heritage Hospice, Prom Project, Happy Feet Equals Learning Feet, iMoms, Camp Horsin’ Around and the Community Arts Center, Arnold said.

They also donate to a couple of missionary groups that the church supports, Arnold said.

The amount of donations the group can make fluctuates from sale to sale, Arnold explained. Written requests are accepted about two months before each sale. There were 22 requests at the last sale which ranged from $200 to $2,000. Lil’ Cherubs committee tries to spread the donations as far as possible, Arnold said.

Inside the church, racks of children’s clothing are separated into boys and girls and by sizes, which range from newborn to juniors. Tables are loaded with books, toys and games.

Outdoor play equipment and strollers will be for sale. Decor for bedrooms, playrooms and nurseries is available, as well as bedding and just about anything else a child could use, Arnold said.

Maternity clothing will also be for sale.

Everything is just a fraction of the price if it had been purchased new, she added. The guidelines suggested to the sellers (who set their own prices) are: if a piece of clothing is in excellent condition, it should be priced at about one-third of the original cost; if it’s in good condition, the price should be only one-forth the cost, Arnold explained.

For example, a $20 item in excellent condition may be priced at about $7 while an item in good condition would be about $5, Arnold said.

Shoppers may want to consider bringing in their own containers, such as hampers and plastic totes, in which to load and carry their purchases, according to the Lil’ Cherub’s Facebook page.

On Friday morning, there’s always “a pretty good line” of people waiting to enter, Arnold said. Not only do parents take advantage of the sale, but grandparents and other relatives shop for their little ones too, Arnold said.

Many teachers also shop at the sale, purchasing educational toys and DVDs for their classes.

The way the consignment sale works is fairly simple, Arnold said, thanks to a computer program they use.

Lil’ Cherubs allows 150 sellers to bring between 50 and 150 items to sell on consignment. They must sign up online and follow the rules for preparing their items for sale — no stains or tears, no broken toys or equipment and fresh batteries installed when needed.

Once they have their spot confirmed, the seller enters each item, a description and price, then prints out the computer-generated price tags, attaches them to each item and takes them to the church.

But if a seller decides they don’t have the minimum items to sell or they don’t have the time to get their merchandise ready, there’s always a waiting list of people who want to sell their stuff, Arnold said.

It takes about three days to set everything up. But since so many committee members have worked on the sale for several years, “It’s like a fine oiled machine,” Arnold said. “It’s a lot of hard work. I love it.”