Shamrock Auction Set for April 21st

St. Patrick School will host its annual Shamrock Auction on April 21st at the KC Hall. Doors open at 6:00 PM. Proceeds from the event are split in half between the school and the athletic association. This year's theme is the Shamrock Olympics.

Volunteer Rachel Schrauben said, “Entry is $20 and it includes all food and drinks you want. Silent auction items are available to bid on all night, and the live auction begins at 8pm. There are other raffles when you get in the door that you can decide to opt into. We've sold almost all of the $100 tickets, but readers can still get into the $20 tuition raffle. The winner will get $1,000 off their tuition or get $500 in cash.”

Tickets are available at the school and parish offices, or from any of the auction workers.

When asked about the history of the event, volunteer Sue Vanlente said, “For 20-30 years, the Athletic Association held Las Vegas Night each spring at St. Pat's Gym to raise money to help support the athletic program. In 2002 a group of school parents approached the AA with a proposition---they wanted to start a school auction in the spring, and they asked the AA to suspend Las Vegas Night that year so that the two events wouldn't compete with each other. In return, the proceeds from the auction would be split between the AA and the school.”

Vanlente added, “As you can imagine, this was an intriguing but frightening proposal for the AA. They would be giving up a certain $7000-$8000 profit for an unknown amount. With a prayer and much trepidation, they agreed to the plan and became partners in the new event. The debut year, I believe that the net profit from the auction was right around $40,000! The AA received half!”

Vanlente says that over the years, the event has raised more than $900,000.

For those who cannot attend but want to support the event, Schrauben says they can “donate items (however, we need to know as soon as possible to get them in our booklet) or money to the cause. Cash or check can be given in each office, or to an Auction committee member.”

Schrauben also said that organizers are trying something new this year. She said, “we've added a special silent auction to our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/stpatshamrockauction17/) for tickets to a Tigers game on April 22. Information is in the most recent post on the page. We hope doing this will give them time to plan ahead and use it as a test for next year.”

Image courtesy of St, Patrick School.