Archive for the ‘Annual Benefit Auction’ Category

23rd Annual Benefit Auction Report and Links

Auction goers got a special treat this year: foliage is peak at camp!

This year was similar to many other years.  A bright, shiny, color filled day hovering around 70 degrees aka “perfect weather.” Phil’s doughnuts were also perfect.  There were 20 or so seasonal staff helping to run the event.  The team did a great job, from food service, to auction logistics. The Auction Committee did a fantastic job soliciting items, putting the list together, and setting up the week before.

Some thought the items were especially lovely this year.  The comments were about the variety and quality of items.  If you have not, you can at time of writing, view the list here.  For those of you who just have to know how things sold, find that list and amounts here.  You can even watch the auction here.  This year, the 60th anniversary of Bethany Birches, one key supporter though aging, decided to make the trip to camp because it was their 60th wedding anniversary!  We honored Anna “Meatball” Martin for her work leading the program for the past 7 years.  We sang happy birthday to Bethany Birches.  The kiddos wrapped up the day after lunch, with the pig trough!  Sandy, auctioneer, called the day spiritual and said he was honored to be a part of the event.

Money trickles in the week after, because people add on amounts as they pay and check out so the final total is not known, but at time of writing, counting the challenge match, mug club, sponsorships, bidding, etc. the event total is up to $88,000!  If you would like to contribute to the Kids to Camp need, or the Pond Refresh, you can do that here.

I would like to shout out to three people in particular: Denise Hershey, Sandy Alderfer, and Anna “Meatball” Martin.  Denise organized the list and kept the committee moving the right direction.  Sandy is our auctioneer, and does a fabulous job with humor and speed.  Anna pulled the operations staff together and guided them throughout the morning.  Would you be interested in joining the auction committee?  If so, please reach out to Brandon by calling or emailing the camp office. Simply click on contact us below.

Thanks to all who contributed, and helped,

Brandon “Tuna” Bergey

22nd Annual Benefit Auction

The smell of fresh homemade doughnuts upon walking into the pavilion on auction morning, after walking past the beauty of the fall mountains is a lovely experience.  Another lovely experience is walking through the kitchen, and then past the front of the room while setup is happening, and to observe 20 extremely talented young people surrounded by generations ahead of them, who are there to care for, and spur them on, for the sake of our campers.

You may or may not be wondering about the quality of the people who run and come to the auction.  But if you’re like me, you are wondering about the money. After all, it is a fundraising event!  This year, thanks to a kids to camp match of $10,000, lovely sponsors (below), and 88 enthusiastic bidders, vying for 104 items, more than $61,000 was raised.  I was sharing with a supporter the good news that $61,000 is for the camp budget.  Most years, we come out of the summer months missing tens of thousands of dollars (the income statement shows net negative) so the auction often feels like a topping up the bank account.  If your bank account is topped up and you’d like to help, you can still give to a goal here.

Please mark your calendars to join us next year, for the 23rd annual benefit auction.  It is scheduled for September 27, 2025.

21st Annual Benefit Auction

Greetings friends!

Another camp season has come and gone, and with it, another benefit auction.  Having been a part of so many auctions, it is easy for me to forget how generous some people are.  I was reminded of this when talking with a newcomer this past Saturday morning.  Both he and his wife appeared somewhat stunned upon entering the pavilion.  He asked me why eggs just sold for $70.  Then he almost interrupted himself to ask why we are even selling eggs in the first place.  Turns out there are a couple answers to that question:

  1. The three sisters named in this description are all BBC campers: “1 lot of 4 dozen Farm fresh eggs from the Wolfe pack’s local, pasture-raised, free-range flock. Hand collected by the Helping HENS (Helen, Esther, Norah- Sisters). On-farm pickup as needed unless otherwise arranged.”
  2. It’s a benefit auction, at which we are raising money to subsidize families so they can afford to send their children to what is normally a very expensive experience.
  3. It’s fun!

My point is, people at the auction are generous.

One of the most important things about a benefit auction is the money.  How did we do?  In total, $71,376 was raised on the day (and another $5300 before the event toward the new mower).   Yay! For those of you who love the data, here’s the sold lot list.

It was a beautiful day.  It looked something like this:

 

Check out the photo album here.  The lot list with sold prices will be live on our website soon as well as next year’s date!  Plan now to join us next fall.

Thank you,

Brandon “Tuna” Bergey

20th Annual Benefit Auction

Dear Bethany Birches Community,

I write with thankfulness for 20 years of the annual benefit auction.  The auction is a fundraiser that supports the deep subsidies given to all campers and especially the ones who need much different price points in order to attend.  That auction is more than a fundraiser at this point.  It embodies our core value of community.  Each year, I hear from attendees that they enjoyed the event, and often they reference the joy of seeing old friends and making new friends.

Another key part of the annual auction is the food!  From Phil’s doughnuts first thing in the morning to a yummy, included no-charge lunch, food is a key part of the fun.  This year, in honor of 20 years, Bethany Birches staff provided children’s programming and thanks to neighbor Bob, a hay ride.  The programming was capped off with pig trough!  One of the youngest campers participated:

 

When the committee began the auction in 2002, their goal was to create an additional funding source for Bethany Birches. The first years were not easy but many of you stuck with us, and as we learned, it became easier and easier. Now there is a process for running the auction, dedicated volunteers, and a will to make sure that campers who cannot afford camp can still come to camp and have a fun, meaningful, nature-filled, Christ-centered experience.  Over the past 20 years this event has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to help guarantee that for many campers.  Each week we ask campers to write a brief letter to those who support Bethany Birches.  One reads:

Dear friend,

I liked the people and activities.  I learned that I feel calmer and more connected to people and God while I’m at camp.  Thank you for supporting this camp. 

Another reads:

Thank you so much for donating to camp. I have so much fun here every year, and i can’t wait to come back next year.  At camp I learn more about God and how to be a leader. 

This year, 150 people came out to give more than $60,000 to provide the BBC experience to local kiddos who need the help.  Thank you to all who participated!  If you would still like to join the fun, you can purchase the mug club here.

Sincerely,

Brandon “Tuna” Bergey, Executive Director

19th Annual Benefit Auction Report

Dear friends,

Thank you!  Thank you to all of you who participated in the annual benefit auction.  It was a great day and the weather was perfect, as you can see.

I can’t speak for everyone, but, I have received many good reports of the camaraderie, food, and of course, the auction event itself.  If you’ve never been, the annual benefit auction is a place where you can both pay way too much for something as well as get a deal.  I was aware of how generous people are during the live bidding as I was watching Denise and Phil’s steak and lobster dinner sell for $600/2 seats.  Or Ruth Ellen’s focaccia bread that sold for $150.  It’s kind of fun to look through the items list and see how the bidding went.  You can find the list with results here.  While I’m sharing links, you can find the photo album from the day here.

By the numbers, 90 bidders online and in person, joined together with 108 donors of items and services to raise more than $65,000 for the camp.  More than 20 volunteers played different roles before and on the day of the event.  There are only about 365 days until the next auction which will be the 20th annual.  We are working on plans  to celebrate a little extra next year.  Plan to join us!  In the meantime, check out the fund a need projects and the volunteer opportunities.

Auction 2020 Success! $113,000

Wow.  Bethany Birches supporters showed up in a big way!  Looking down the list of all the bidders and donors of items warms my heart.  More than 100 persons banded together to contribute items and dollars and time to raise $113,000!  That total includes matches, mug club, fund a need, online auction, live auction, people covering credit card fees, and rounding up their payments. That is almost double a normal auction.  While the pandemic is wreaking havoc accross the world and erasing some businesses and non profits, it apparently isn’t going to erase Bethany Birches Camp.  The BBC community has proven that!

We will do our best to honor your support and care for this ministry and continue on our current path of providing a high-quality, Christ-centered camping experience at an affordable price for all.

If you would still like to give you can give to the “Fund a need” items here.  The climbing wall project especially needs a few more dollars.

I offer these three videos as a thank you!

Auction goes live Nov 7. We are testing Oct 16. Join us!

Greetings friends.  We are excited about the upcoming Benefit Auction.  Though it’s going to be different than usual, I think it’s still going to be pretty great.  There will be online bidding for a week, some important needs to give to, and of course Sandy Alderfer coming to us live via Zoom on Nov 7 at 9:30am.  We are trying to make the Zoom auction real time, similar to how we used to bid in person.  But we need to test that.  Will you join our test auction Monday, Oct 16 at 7pm?  If so, register here!

Auction Bidder Registration

Annual Benefit Auction 2020: A Virtual Treat ?

Dear Camp Friends,

Save the date, mark your calendars: Our 18th annual benefit auction has been set for the weekend of November 6-8!

Yes, it will be happening virtually, over the course of a few days. We are working out the details and here’s what we know will be included so far:

  1. Live bidding. Our auctioneer, Sandy Alderfer, who has been with us since day one, will be live for an hour (virtually), doing what he does best: giving you a hard time and convincing you a pint of maple syrup really is worth $200!  This will be interactive with Sandy.
  2. Multi day, online bidding.  If you are not familiar with this style, in short, it works like our silent auction does.  You bid, then someone outbids you.  You get a notification if you are outbid. There is an end time at which the highest bidder wins.
  3. Online shopping. You’ll be able to buy things like camp store swag, items from local businesses, and of course, you’ll be able to buy your mug club mug.  (This will be shipped to your house before the live component of the auction so you can enjoy during the auction!)
  4. The Mug Club!  It will be shipped to your house before the live component of the auction so you can enjoy during the auction.
  5. Matches. Not for building fires… we’re talking dollars!  Do you have interesting in putting up a match toward an item or special project?  Special projects include a new camp SUV, the rock wall in the pavilion, and of course, the ever popular Kids To Camp fund.  Let Brandon know if you would like to talk more about this.

While the world looks strange right now, and we have decided to go online for this event, we are excited to spend that weekend with you in a new way. We’ll share stories from this summer at camp, and have some classic auction items available to purchase that weekend too. The auction committee is working hard on some creative ideas to make this year memorable and fun, and especially to retain as much normalcy as we can.

On the topic of normalcy, check out this video from summer 2020.

To stay up to date on all future auction communications subscribe to our email list and encourage others who are interested to do so.

The auction is one of the highlights of our year, and a huge fundraising opportunity for camp, particularly for camper scholarships that make it possible for so many kids to come and experience BBC.
We look forward to sharing more info on the auction soon!

Kellyn “Benji” Boyden
Media and Communications Manager

 

p.s. In case you were wondering – we have two more weeks until we can pronounce that no virus was spread here this summer.  At the moment, no one has fallen ill with Covid-19!

p.p.s. Volunteers!  If interested in volunteering for any of these things, please reply.

  • Auction
  • Lawn mowing
  • Bookkeeping
  • Woodcutting

Annual Benefit Auction 2019

I am constantly surprised and sometimes overwhelmed by the generosity of the community that supports Bethany Birches Camp. A past board member and spouse, who was a long time camper, do lots of preparation for the auction each year and even work hard starting early the day of the event.  After that they sit down and bid as high as they can.  This is just one snapshot of those who are passionate about this place and work.

Another snapshot from Saturday are Sandy and Vernon, the auctioneers.  Some years they bring their wives, other years Sandy has come alone.  Well this year, Sandy and Vernon left in Vernon’s Prius at 12:02am Saturday morning.  They pulled into the camp around 6am to catch the sunset and a couple Z’s.  By 8:30 they were out having coffee.  They did their usual excellent and entertaining work, and after lunch got back in the car to head home to Pennsylvania.

I have so many snapshots like this from Saturday.  Those images range from young Counselors In Training helping with food service to bidders who bid high and traveled from near and far to some of our youngest campers eating LOTS of popcorn.  It is all of you, who give of your time, energy, and money who make it possible to provide camp to all.  Our unique tier pricing both provides this possibility and also requires significant fundraising.  The auction goes a long way toward those fundraising goals.

As you may know, each year we try to include some sort of program in addition to the rest of the festivities.  It’s usually something simple.  This year, we were curious which Mennonite breakfast treat would be more popular.  So, we set out pieces of Old Fashioned Shoofly Pie and pieces of Funny Cake (all donated by Landis Supermarket).  Participants placed a ticket in one of two jars signifying their preference.  Get THIS!  It was a tie!  28 votes for Shoofly and 28 votes for Funny Cake!  One of the auction committee members commented “that is so Mennonite.  We wouldn’t want to cause any conflict or bad feelings.”

While the preferred breakfast treat may not be clear, we do know that this year’s auction raised a whole bunch of money for campers who need it.  Initial tally shows more than $54,000!  Here’s the list of items with winning bid prices. We are humbled by this result and deeply grateful for each person in the room that day as well as those who bid from afar.  Mark your calendar for the end of September next year.  We hope to see you there!

On behalf of the camp board and auction committee,

Brandon “Tuna” Bergey

Executive Director

16th Annual Benefit Auction

The 16th Annual Benefit Auction was great fun and raised over $51,000 for the work of Bethany Birches.  Specifically, that means that many campers who could not afford camp could still come and have a powerful summer and winter camp experience. I am so thankful for all of you generous and gracious people who make camp possible.  Thanks to everyone who donated items, who came out to the event,  who bid on-line, who made food, and who volunteered in numerous ways. We couldn’t do it without you!

On Saturday, we were blessed to enjoy beautiful fall weather for auction day.  The sun was out and the leaves were starting to display their autumn glory.  The morning began with a delicious breakfast of Phil Lapp’s famous donuts (bet you didn’t eat just one), an amazing selection of quiches, fresh fruit,  funny cake, shoe-fly pie (pies courtesy of Landis Supermarket), and lots of coffee and apple cider (thanks for the apples Jeff/Jane and for pressing Mike!).  It was just the thing to fuel everyone up for the active bidding that was to come.

We unveiled this year’s mug design as well as the new auction logo – and both were received with enthusiasm.  Plus – all those who joined the “mug club” got to enjoy endless beverage refills throughout the day. What a deal! 

The preview hour was a great opportunity to check out the silent auction tent, as well as to start strategizing which items to bid on in the live auction.  Once Sandy (of Sanford Alderfer Real Estate), the auctioneer, took the microphone we were were off and running.  He has such a great energy and he keeps the bidder numbers popping up all over the room.  There were certainly some items for which the bidding was quite competitive, and that was really fun to watch (I, Wonder Woman was very excited to win one of the Penn View Farm Chocolate Milks that I had my eye on!).  Here’s a list of all the items in the live auction and their selling prices.

The event wrapped up with a fantastic lunch spread, and time to savor good food and conversation around the picnic tables.  The kids enjoyed running around at the playground as well.  We all had full stomachs, and even fuller hearts.

There were many special moments last Saturday.   Two of my favorite moments were listening to a supporter who talked about reconnecting with childhood friends at the auction and watching two current campers attempt auctioning for themselves!  In fact, here they are:

Here’s another take from the budding auctioneers:

So go ahead and mark your calendars for next year, September 28, 2019.  See you there!

On behalf of the auction committee,

Tuna and Wonder Woman

(Brandon Bergey, Courtney Hollingsworth)