The Kiwanis Club of Orillia is hosting its popular annual auction — online — again this year. The 42nd annual auction gets underway on Oct. 30 when bids for a vast array of goods open.
Kiwanis Club president Heather Breckles says the decision to take the auction online again this year was made back in July.
“The number of (COVID-19) cases were increasing so high, so we just decided that it was easier to go forward, cut our losses, and start planning for an online auction with a live pickup again,” she said.
The online format for the auction isn’t ideal, Breckles concedes, but it’s a good way to raise money and to keep the spirit of the auction alive.
“We miss seeing the public and in the future, we want to go back to the live auction. But the online auction is a good platform to keep it going for now," she said.
The Kiwanis Club auction is the only fundraiser in which the club turns to the general public for assistance, making it the most important fundraiser of the year for the organization, she explained.
“We support Big Brothers Big Sisters, Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital, school scholarships, we put playgrounds and sporting equipment in elementary schools, we built a portion of the Trans Canada Trail, and the list just keeps going on,” Breckles said.
“This is where we get the money to support all of those groups going forward. It is a very vast array of stuff that we support in the local area.”
Last year the online event raised $55,000, exceeding the modest fundraising goal of $30,000. This year the bar has been risen; the Kiwanis Club is hopeful that they can raise between $60,000 and $65,000.
“With the community support that we’ve seen with the donations, we are pretty positive that we are going to come close to our goal. We have a huge supportiveness in the town and everyone seems to step up for us,” Breckles said.
“We are very thankful for our community; their support is phenomenal.”
Up for grabs this year is a Blackbarn Golf Car, hundreds of gift cards for restaurants, personal care services, automotive maintenance services, yard equipment, clothing, and much more.
“There is something for everyone basically, and it’s tax-free,” Breckles said.
“It’s a good time to get some early Christmas shopping done. And it’s guaranteed that you are going to get it during live pick up on Nov. 6.”
An auction preview will be available this week. Once it goes live, you can find it here.
