I decided to post today to let my followers know that I did not fall off the ends of the earth. We had a big benefit Saturday at the church for Kaylee, a 16 year old member of our congregation that has Lupus. The medical bills have been horrendous and we wanted to help the family however we could. Donation cans were placed in businesses in our town and 3 neighboring towns (it's a small community) and some of the businesses donated items or gift certificates for our silent auction.
And that is what I have been busy doing. I was in charge of the silent auction. Never having done one before I, of course, googled it to get information about how to proceed. Items kept coming in right up to the day so I had to constantly update my master list and print up bid sheets. Friday night a whole crew helped set everything up - 240 items in all.
Another crew put on a spaghetti dinner which brought in the crowd. I do not have a final total but we raised around $2,400 on the silent auction alone. With the dinner and bake sale, the grand total may be over $5,000.
There are a couple of heartwarming stories I just have to tell you. One young boy came in with an envelope full of change and a note on it that said "I hope this helps". A young girl asked the friends that attended her birthday party to bring food items for the family instead of birthday gifts for her. They brought in a large tote full of food. During the dinner, there was a live auction and one woman bid $100 on the last bottle of maple syrup made by a deceased parishioner. She donated it back and another woman bid $100. $200 for a bottle of maple syrup!
I saw God at work in so many ways through so many people this past week and I am full of praise and thanksgiving.
3 comments:
Oh Bobby...Tears are welling up at the goodness of God's people in your community. You are most certainly one of them for all your efforts!!! I pray that God will continue to help both this young lady and her family, and continue to bless your community. A wonderful post, and thanks so much for sharing. Bev
Thanking you, Bobby, for posting what's been going on with you. And thank you for this exceeding generous gift you gave of yourself chairing the Silent Auction for this family in need. I've done or helped with several SAs for a local group so I know first-hand what a tremendous amount of work it is! You beautifully expressed the giving hearts of all these wonderful people, young and old. Hugs, Darnell
Thanks so much for sharing this story, Bobby! How wonderful that so many are coming together to help this young girl and her family. And what a gift you gave, too! Organizing an event like this is no easy task. May you be blessed for being such a blessing to others. xox
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