Archive for the ‘Annual Benefit Auction’ Category

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Auction Spotlight: snuggly socks (you could wear to the mountain)

by Courtney Hollingsworth

Hello!

The BBC Annual Benefit Auction is only 3 sleeps away. Yay- I can’t wait!

Not only is this a great way to score some amazing items, but you get to help send kids to camp in the process. That is what I call a WIN-WIN!

Have you checked out our website yet to start your ‘WISH LIST’ of things you want to bid on? I have, and so I thought I would share are a couple of the items that I am very excited about.  

I don’t know about you, but there is something wonderful about wearing a brand new pair of socks. That feeling is just so cozy and perfect, and totally makes an average day into something special. And if they are a FUN pair of socks, that is even better. So – I totally have my eye on all the amazing Solmate Socks we have to choose from on the auction list. The snuggle is real! Which design will be your favorite? Or maybe you will find the perfect pair for a friend! (Plus – this is a great item to use as a stocking stuffer for those of you early birds who are already in Christmas shopping mode)

And where better to wear those awesome socks – than to the MOUNTAIN! I am a snowboarder, and I look forward to carving up some winter fun. How awesome that we have donated tickets to Killington, Okemo, and Suicide Six. Now, I just need to decide which one to bid on! I guess having too many great options is not a bad problem to have.

I recommend you check out the website and start making your own Wish List. We hope to see you on Saturday, from 9am-Noon, at the Auction.

Love,

Courtney “Wonder Woman” Hollingsworth

Auction Items Spotlight

by Tuna

It’s almost time for the annual benefit auction.  I am excited!  Why?  It’s so fun!  Even better, there are so many great people and lots of great food!  Sandy, the auctioneer is a great entertainer (and will convince you that you need to keep bidding… which is good for the kiddos who benefit from your bidding).

In my excitement for the food and people and fun, I forgot about all the cool stuff you could win!  Each year in the week or two leading up to the auction we highlight some of the items just to give a sense of some of the cool stuff on offer.   As usual, there are a handful of services you can purchase.  You can give to benefit campers and in return, get your house clean, go on a date and leave the kids at home or host an upscale party complete with professional cellist, wine and cheese.

The house cleaning was donated by Goldcoast House Cleaning.  Owner of Goldcoast and camper mom Sarah, will send her lovely staff to your residence or vacation home if it’s near Bridgewater, VT.  She will include cleaning basket of natural sponges, clothe essential lemon oil, and a bottle of Thieves Cleaner for you to do your own cleaning next time.  You can visit Goldcoast’s website and learn about the specific cleaning they will do for you or place a bid online here using code GOLDHC.

Bethany Birches’ very own program director, Courtney “Wonder Woman” Hollingsworth is providing a date night in Woodstock.  Speaking from experience, I have seen her educate, have fun with, and take great care of young people of all ages.  This item not only includes 6 hours of her time but it also includes a gift certificate to the Woodstock Inn’s restaurants and movie tickets to the Town Hall Theater.  She’ll drive up to 45 minutes from Woodstock.  Visit this listing or place a bid online here using code DATENI.

Last and certainly not least is the opportunity to enjoy an intimate evening with friends as you listen to a private recital of a seminal piece of the cello repertoire, Bach’s Solo Suite for Cello no 1 in G Major. Wine and cheese will beprovided to further your enjoyment of the evening. Location of your choosing within 30 miles of Hartford, VT.  Visit this listing or place a bid online here using code BACHWI.

13th Annual Benefit Auction Review

by Kellyn Boyden

Hey Camp Friends!

As you may have heard, the 13th Annual Benefit Auction was a huge success! I’m here to tell you more about the day.

Crisp and cool, everything that an autumn day in Vermont should be. Add just about every fall staple; we really had the perfect day: warm homemade doughnuts, fresh apple cider, hot coffee, an enthusiastic community, and the myriad of colors just starting to show among the trees in the surrounding hills. Something that stood out to me was this sense of joy among everyone who was at camp that day. From campers tossing apples to be pressed into cider, to board members working hard in the kitchen and behind the scenes, to every auction-goer. Whether they were working, or simply sitting in a plastic lawn chair, everyone was there for one common reason: to raise money for kids to come to camp. At its peak there were around 170 people together at one time. I found this to be an amazing testament to the power of camp (one of many I would experience that day).

My favorite moment of the auction came when it was time to “bid” on camperships (scholarships to pay for camp weeks). Each cost $400, and as soon as the auctioneer called for bids, hands were raised. 19 donors in fact.  Some of them even raised their bidder numbers more than once for a total of $8900 raised for Kids to Camp Fund. It was beautiful!

After the auction ended, everyone shared lunch together, sponsored by Gallagher & Flynn. As the afternoon went on, some people left, and some stayed to enjoy hayrides, pavilion tours, and even a Dutch Blitz tournament! After having dinner together, provided by Jesse’s BBQ, everyone gathered for fireside, a common camp tradition. We heard from Audie Bellimer about his first summer at camp, back in the first years of summer camp. We also heard from Alison Charbeneau about her camp memories. After that, anyone was invited to share their memories and stories of camp throughout the years. We closed by singing “Great is Thy Faithfulness” together. I could not think of a more fitting hymn to encompass God’s goodness and provision for camp throughout the last 50 years. All in all, it was a fantastic weekend, celebrating camp’s history and bright future.

Ok, now let’s talk numbers. Through bidding, camp store purchases, apple cider and related products, and chimney stones, the total amount raised was $52,500! All of this goes to pay for campers who can’t pay to come to camp AND the new pavilion. $13,000 of that sum was raised for the new chimney. This is the most money raised through the auction yet!

For more details from the auction, visit bethanybirches.org/benefit-auction. Here you’ll find information about how much each item brought, photos from the day, and 50th Anniversary merchandise available for purchase online! Now, mark your calendars for next years auction, September 24th, 2016!

We sincerely thank every volunteer, staff member, camper, and auction goer. We could not have done this without you. Heck, we can’t do camp without you, and many others! We hope and look forward to seeing you next year!

-Benji

50th Anniversary and Auction Success

by Tuna

Fresh homemade doughnuts hot out of the oven.  Fresh, fair-trade, high-grade coffee to go with them.  Nippy fall air.  Sipping fresh pressed apple cider made from VT apples out of your 50th anniversary mug club mug.  People bustling about, excited for the auction to start, 170 of them, prepared to do what they can to support the camp and Vermont’s young people.  This is the stage upon which the 50th anniversary celebration and annual auction played out.  It was a wonderful time.  We’re going to write a more full report but wanted to post this just to let you know that more than $50,000 was given.  Hooray for all of you who made it happen!  More to come when we get all the money counted and details hammered out.

Tuna

12th Annual Benefit Auction

by Tuna

The 12th Annual Benefit Auction was awesome! It was in a tent on the ball field due to the absence of the pavilion. MANY volunteers helped to prepare for the event – from soliciting donations to setting up the tent and parking. And then of course there’s all those folks who bought stuff! And bought stuff they did – $52,000 worth!

We thank friends of camp who were willing to provide auction matches in the amount of $8500. That certainly helped the total. And the bidding.

And we thank Gallagher Flynn for sponsoring the Mini Bike Raffle. Congrats to a camper family from Montpelier area on the win.

For those of you who weren’t there, what was it like to be there? I’m sure everyone has a slightly different report. So a couple facts first:

  • It was almost 80 degrees and VERY sunny
  • There were well over 100 people in attendance including plenty of new faces
  • Sandy Alderfer and Vernon Martin led the way.  Sandy has been auctioneer at the benefit auction since it’s inception (he’s also a hall of fame member and very funny)
  • Many campers performed the role of “runner” i.e. bringing items to the front and holding them up
  • There was a high level of emotion around the pavilion – interest in it, questions about it and (from me) the challenge of it!
  • 16 shoefly pies and funny cakes were handed out during the auction preview

As for me, it was a blessing to participate in this day.  I felt once again the support of the Bethany Birches Camp community and the inclusion of both new members to the community and outsiders.

Won’t you join in next year?  September 26, 2015 here at camp, in the new pavilion!

Tuna

 

Yes, there was even some water slide happening…
Auction Day Water Sliding

Old Pavi Art Sold At Annual Benefit Auction

by Tuna

On September 27, the 12th annual benefit auction will be held at Bethany Birches Camp.

The original pavilion was torn down just a month ago. And we are busily working toward the completion of the new pavilion. And boy is it going to cost some money to build and finish this new pavilion!  Many people have given faithfully, sacrificially and exuberantly. And we are thankful.  More on that in a future post.  This post is about the auction and old pavi art!

Some camp supporters who are skilled craftsmen decided to make some really cool items for the auction out of the old pavilion.  Fred Schlabach and Dave Beidler have been hard at work and they’ve created some incredible stuff.  Fred made a bunch of mirrors. He will explain why he chose mirrors at the auction. He also made a pendant light.  Dave made a table out of the old pavilion posts!  Some of these items will be matched so that when you bid on it your dollar is worth two or three!  Who wants one?!  Can’t make it to the auction?  Place a bid online right here using the codes in the descriptions

Bid Now

Experience The Auction

by Tuna

Apple cider, maple syrup and donuts, oh my! Have you ever experienced the BBC auction? Let me give you a glimpse into the things that touched me this past weekend:

Campers come and help sell the items on the live auction by presenting the items to the audience – little do they know what an impact that has on the sale of the item!

Counselors and staff return with donated items- or they are like “mystery shoppers”, proxy bidding for those online bids that have been submitted.

People travel from places far & wide to come spend a day in the beautiful countryside and support camp.

A fabulous auctioneer from PA comes with his entourage to most definitely get more money per item with his perfect blend of humor, compassion and philanthropic encouragement.

Items are baked, chopped, squeezed, pressed, fried, ground, and cooked with loving hands to provide nourishment for the crowds and yummy additions to the sale!

Oh yes, and then the money…. People pay crazy amounts for everyday items. 15 people chose to simply donate $200-$400 each to send a camper to camp. And a wonderful “matching donor” (Glenn and Diane Moyer) agreed to double what was raised per dollar for any amount raised between $20,000 and $40,000.

Maybe it is because I didn’t grow up going to auctions that I am just awed by it all. Maybe because I truly love BBC – the place that it is, the kids, staff and counselors, and all that it represents. Maybe it’s because I know that there is something bigger than me out there, and He always shows himself to me when I’m there. Whatever the reason, I left the 2013 BBC Auction with a thankful heart and a happy soul. And the icing on the cake is that through all of this we keep making progress towards this wonderful goal of keeping the camp alive and thriving for generations to come. With the additional money raised, we have now raised well over $1 million towards the goal of $1.8 million for a new pavilion at camp.

For more information on that project (Mission Possible: The Pavilion Project) go here.  To read about the auction totals go here. Photos of the auction day go here.

If you like what you see here, share it with others! “Like” us on Facebook! Repost a blog! Tweet about it (@BethanyBirches)! You can use #MissionPossible, #WithGod, #ThePaviProject Tuna loves to use the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child”. This was so evident this gorgeous, amazing weekend in VT. Praise be to God, thanks be to all of you and blessings to all the kids who continue to develop their relationship with God.

Flo

(aka Beth Goshow)

Mission Possible Communications Manager

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THE $1100 GOLDEN SHOVEL

Benefit Auction 2013 Gross Totals

by Tuna

Greetings Friends!  Here’s a message I wrote internally just now (to board, staff and auction committee).  It’s so exciting I just HAD to share it with everyone!

————

I just did the math and here’s what it seems we’ll receive (gross) when all payments are made.  This of course does not include any further rounding up people may do ( or any mistakes I’ve made!).  I’ll publish the net when we finalize that and receive outstanding payments.

SourceAmount
Cashier including (live and silent bidding and raffle tix paid cash/check)24500
Bidding (live and silent NOT paid to date)3830
Bidding (live and silent paid by Credit Card)9146
Snowmobile Raffle sold BEFORE auction980
Cash Box From food/beverage540

TOTAL = $38,996.

When we add the match to that we’ll be pushing $60K raised from the day!!!  As a German-speaking friend of mine says: “awe inspiring”
Thanks to each of you for your part in making the day a success and for your commitment to helping young people develop their relationship with God!
Brandon
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To God be all praise, honor and thanks!  And to many who gave items to be sold and who bid on those items.  As the saying goes, “it takes a village.”  Here at camp, we say it takes a community of love.  And how fun to be part of that community!
In case you missed out on the fun, you can do three exciting things from this post:
[button-medium color=”green” link=”eepurl.com/puW8r”]Get Camp Emails[/button-medium]     [button-medium color=”green” link=”bethanybirches.org/wp-content/media/2013/09/2013-auction-lot-list-w_.pdf”]View Winning Bids[/button-medium]    [button-medium color=”green” link=”bethanybirches.org/donate/”]Make A Donation[/button-medium]
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