The Advancement Foundation holds holiday charity auction
VINTON–There are only a select few people in the world who have ridden in a racecar going 165 mph, or thrown out the first pitch of a professional baseball game. Almost as rare is the chance to spend a day with a broadcast journalist or a town mayor, to fly along as an aerial photographer takes a snap shot of one’s house, or to spend a weekend in a luxurious Smith Mountain Lake home.
Yet a few lucky people will win those opportunities, among other prizes up for bids in the Advancement Foundation’s first annual holiday charity auction. Along with once-in-a-lifetime and a day-in-the-life opportunities, everything from manicures to pottery classes to wine festival tickets and gym memberships is available. The prizes certainly aren’t anything available on eBay.
While the packages make great gifts, the online auction is unique because all the money goes to a good cause.
“We keep saying shop for goods, shop for a good cause,” Terry Mazeika of the Advancement Foundation said.
All of the items in the auction were donated, and the money from the highest bid goes to the Advancement Foundation. The holiday auction also features a Kid’s Korner, where generous donors can bid to donate a deluxe changing table, computer learning software, a pair of eyeglasses, a winter coat, or a dental check to a needy child in the Roanoke valley.
The Vinton-based non-profit is breaking the cycle of poverty by working directly with the poor to help them develop life plans and vocational skills. The Advancement Foundation also assists more than a dozen local organizations such as Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Manna Ministries, the West End Center for Youth, and Feeding America Southwest VA with their own volunteer and fundraising needs.
All year long, the staff and volunteers at the Advancement Foundation work hard to help other organizations. They make hundreds of phone calls to potential donors, recruit volunteers, write grants, help develop partnerships between agencies, and raise awareness for unfamiliar groups. At the same time, they work with impoverished women at the Advancement Foundation’s own LEAP program, helping them develop skills and find jobs.
All of the Advancement Foundation’s work means that there are fewer people out on the street at night; fewer children going to sleep hungry. There are more women with marketable skills, and more volunteers in the places that need them most. Yet the people at the Advancement Foundation also need funding to stay in operation. Most of the year, they help others with their fundraisers. They don’t do a lot of fundraising because it interferes with their non-profit partners, but with their first annual holiday charity auction, it’s time for the Advancement Foundation to raise some money for itself, as well as other groups.
The auction is one of the more out-of-the-box fundraisers in the Roanoke Valley, and the staff at the Advancement Foundation wanted it that way. They spent a great deal of time brainstorming ideas, and then putting the best one, an online auction, into action.
Marketing and Communications Specialist Terry Mazeika and Resource Specialist Linda Mahoney have spent hours soliciting businesses and individuals for unique items, deciding on minimum bids, and listing items on the website. They have spent even more time spreading the word about the auction.
“We reached out to as many people as Linda and I could think of [to donate]. The community was absolutely great. What they could give us, they did,” Mazeika said. “Now we just need bidders.”
As word spreads, they may just get their wish. Bidding began on November 15, and ends at 12:00 p.m. on December 4. The highest bid will be updated daily on the website. For more information, or to make a bid, please visit www.TheAdvancementFoundation.org.
