Order of Saint Constantine

Project Melania was a project of the Order of Saint Constantine that took place in the London Boroughs of Sutton and of Merton to supply charity shops with unwanted but good quality items thrown away or given away for free at the end of large car boot sales.

Every Wednesday a large car boot sale took place at Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium. At the end of the boot sale, many stalls - especially those which sell items from house clearances - gave away unsold items for free. Project Melania entailed collecting any such free items which are of a good quality and donating them to various charity shops in Sutton and Merton to be sold to raise money for the charities said shops support.

Project Melania came to an end after the boot sales stopped in April 2017.

The project was named after Saint Melania (the Elder), born in 325, a noblewoman who gave away her vast inheritance to the poor and in support of persecuted Christians. Her feast day is celebrated on 8 June, the day on which the project begun. 

In total, the project donated the following:

• 93 books
• 70 CDs
• 44 DVDs
• 19 items of bric-a-brac (ornaments, crockery, etc)