Good as NU, Northwestern’s first flea market, started at noon on Sunday. But Evanston residents eager to buy furniture began camping out on the lawn in front of Foster-Walker Complex as early as 10:30 a.m.

“I waited for more than an hour to get the furniture I wanted,” said Wng Zhou, an Evanston resident who was one of about 20 people who arrived early. “The prices are good for some nice stuff.”

Zhou said she bought about $40 worth of furniture.

The five-hour event raised about $600, said Stephanie Fine, a Communication freshman.

“We made a pretty darn good amount of money for the first year,” Fine said. “It turned out better than we were expecting.”

All proceeds will be donated to Connections for the Homeless, an Evanston shelter located at 2010 Dewey Ave. Good as NU, sponsored by the Fiedler Hillel Center, featured items donated by Evanston residents and NU students, including clothing, shoes, tea sets and picture frames. Students baked cookies, brownies and cinnamon rolls to raise additional money.

Fine, who helped in organizing the event, said the items left at the end of the flea market — including clothing, blinds, cushions and chairs — will be donated to Ort Resale Store, 915 Chicago Ave., and Evanston’s Salvation Army.

Madeline Kaufman, another of the event’s organizers, said they chose Connections for the Homeless so buyers and donors would feel they had a connection to the people they were helping.

“We wanted it to be something local so Evanston residents would donate and know they were helping their community,” said Kaufman, a Weinberg freshman.

Rachel Zar-Kessler, program director of Hillel, said she was pleased with students’ efforts.

“It’s a great opportunity for Northwestern students to give back to the community,” she said.

Students who attended the event said it was a good way to raise money for charity because college students like cheap items and good deals.

Brittany Hendricks, a Music sophomore, said she saw flyers for the flea market around campus and decided to browse the tables after eating lunch nearby.

“It’s a good way to get rid of extra stuff in cluttered dorm rooms,” Hendricks said. “Students like things that are inexpensive, and you never know what you’ll find.”

Other students came in search of specific deals. Weinberg sophomore Jeff Brenman, who was considering a shelving unit, said he came with friends to get inexpensive furniture for their room in Willard Residential College.

“We came here looking for furniture,” Brenman said. “But there’s a lot of other stuff.”

Kaufman said she hopes Good as NU will become an annual event.

“We hope to make it bigger and better next year,” she said. “We want to have more stuff to sell with even more to give to charity.”

Reach Aliza Appelbaum at [email protected].