One down, one to go...

As I've previously posted, I have been volunteering with a couple auctions. One was for the Rotary auction that my mother is a member of and one is for my co-worker's baby. I have worked for the last several months to try to get items for both auctions.

Well, last night was the Rotary Radio auction. My day started at 5:00 AM. I worked my regular work shift and trekked the hour to where the auction was being held. I helped set up tables, phone lines, and snacks for the volunteers. My job when the auction itself started was to match the bid slips to the items being auctioned. Pretty tricky when you're talking 200+ items going at once. And 6 phone lines ringing at all times. There were some really nice items to bid on as well. A weeks stay at Hilton Head, a $300 teeth whitening package, certificates for: food, golf, landscaping, & assorted other goodies. There was a deer blind, hotel stays all over the state , & Red Wings memorabilia (I got that for them at the Wings training camp.) Tigers, Sagainaw Spirit, Grand Rapids Griffins and CMU/Army tickets. The un officail total for the Rotary Auction was just over $13,000. All that will be reinvested back into the community. It was 12:30 this morning when I finally made it back home.

Now, I can commit all my focus to Jacob's upcoming auction. Jacob was born with a severe abdominal wall defect; the worst of that type that the University of Michigan has ever seen. He has fought through several complications and illnesses. My co worker's and I are doing a pancake brunch along with a silent auction, 50/50 raffle, and a bake sale to help out his family. They have to trek down to Ann Arbor at least 2x a month and the costs are really racking up. It's funny really. I have been able to get multiple donations for Jacob's auction, but cant manage to sell a single ticket to the benefit. We'll have a ton of cool stuff, but no one to bid on any of it.

One of the most touching things for me about getting the items for Jacobs auction is when I stopped at a local car wash. I asked the lady at the desk if they ever donated to benefits or things like that. She took my little flyer and told me that she'd forward it to the owners. But, she didn't think they would contribute anything. She did however donate her own personal employee car washes. That really touched me. The local business have been very supportive. Hopefully this benefit will bring in alot of $ to help Jacob out. The little guy is a fighter!

I'm totally whipped and exhausted doesn't even begin to cover how tired I am. I'm going to exercise and then go to bed early. Hope you all have a good day. And remember to help out someone sometime. You never know when you'll need help and someone else will be there to return the favor. Fate has a way of working that way.