Several organizations gathered Saturday in Doral to sell unclaimed cargo, the proceeds of which will benefit veterans.
More than 150 pallets of assorted merchandise were donated for the public clearance sale called Cargo for Vets, which was held at JC Bermudez Park.
"A lot of unclaimed cargo that they have sitting around, basically they would just turn around and sell to a salvage company for pennies on the dollar," said Lt. Col. Tony Colmenares, with Miami Veteran Services.
Shoppers perused items that ranged from hardware to home decor.
"You never know what you can find," said shopper George Ayala. "That's a great cause and anything we can do to help them, it's terrific."
Cargo for Vets was organized by local officials, several freight companies and the Florida Veterans Foundation.
Groups like these, say veteran Robert Butler, helped him get back on his feet after he returned from Iraq.
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"When I came home, I didn't find the support I thought I was going to and it was really devastating," Butler said.
Now, with the help of veterans groups, Butler has his own shaved ice business.
Organizers said they expected to sell about $40,000 worth of merchandise over the course of the event, which continues Sunday.
"They sacrifice their lives for our country and this is the least we can do, we have a huge debt to repay these veterans," said Al Germi with shipping company ACCO Terramar.
