Written by Holly Bell, Director of First Impressions
Want to know what I think is fun? The silent auction part of the annual Blue Heron Bash celebration; this year the party is on Saturday, March 18th. I absolutely LOVE the silent auction because I get to learn about people and their hobbies. People sew quilts. People knit or crochet hats/scarves/mittens, etc. People make jewelry and mugs or bowls. Others donate services - like cleaning, for instance! People paint and make art. People build furniture and birdhouses. People use all of their creative talents to share in the auction to raise money for our programs at GRS. What is the most creative thing you’ve made? Wouldn’t it be fun to donate an item to the silent auction for others to bid on? Just imagine how much your object will sell for! One of the best things (in my opinion) to bid on is artwork made by a student. You can see on the wall in my office that I adore art made by students.
I have a couple of silent auction strategies that I’ll share with you - if you promise not to use them against me. Once I “won” a vending machine because of my first strategy: be the first to bid on an object that no one else had bid on. (I sometimes feel badly for donations that don’t get bids.) Sometimes it seems like just one person needs to start the ball rolling for more bids to show up. Another strategy I use is to have a total dollar amount limit that I can spend - and keeping that in mind and to sticking with that number. It’s easy for me to outbid others when there’s something that I really want and I just need to keep my limit in mind. I have to struggle against the competition of the “game” getting the best of me. My third strategy is to make sure I see every item available for the silent auction. Sometimes the true treasure is just beyond the corner! Another strategy I’ve heard about is that many people “win” their bid by standing right next to the bid sheet (or by hovering over the object on-line) so that they’ll know right away if someone outbids them. Do you have strategies to win items at a silent auction?
Have you ever heard of the saying that one man’s junk is another man’s treasure? Silent auctions remind me of that quote. Maybe I’ve made something that I don’t particularly like or it’s not as beautiful as I had imagined. I could donate the item to the silent auction to see if someone would bid on it. Every little bit helps the school in the long run. Take a look around you to see if there is something you could make or donate to the silent auction. Let’s get lots of variety available! I’m taking this weekend as an opportunity to gather things together before the sale starts. How about you?
On we go,
Holly