The Salvation Army North East Youth Services and Shepparton Brewery have joined forces for a follow-up event to Under The Same Stars with a community chest charity auction to further bolster the fundraising tally.
“We had a lot of people offering alternative ways to help our cause, including material items and memorabilia,” Salvation Army NEYS youth participation worker Jim Gow said.
“We considered blending this auction of items into our recent (sleepout) event, but didn’t want to interfere with the experience ... so we thought we’d hold it separately a month or so afterwards.”
A separate goods and services auction will now take place at Shepparton Brewery.
Proceeds from the auction will be directed into the same fund as the sleepout and community run/walk, which was held in conjunction with the sleepout.
They will sit untouched in the dedicated account until there is enough to build something with bricks and mortar locally, to help fight youth homelessness.
Shepparton Brewery co-owner Daina Winch said she was excited about putting on another community fundraising event.
“Both Matt (co-owner) and I have participated in both Under the Same Stars sleepouts and find the experience incredible,” she said.
“To be able to build on that by assisting to host this evening will be a win-win for all of us”.
The auction night dinner will consist of two courses and a drink included in the $30 ticket price, which will all be donated back to NEYS.
“It (fundraisers) is something we used to do quite a bit, but haven’t done it for a while as we are usually closed on a Tuesday night,” Ms Winch said.
“But we open specially for this exclusive event.”
Mr Gow said NEYS was sincerely grateful for the support.
“The fact that that entry fee and costs for the meal and so on is then donated straight back to us is incredibly generous,” he said.
Ultra-runners from the run/walk held at the sleepout event, Peter Ralph and Vic Bovalino, will be in attendance.
“We get to see and thank people who attend for the support of our recent run, which we may not have had an opportunity to do so as we were too focused on the running element,” Mr Ralph said.
Many businesses have gotten on board to donate items already, but Mr Gow invites further donations of items, services or experiences to auction.
“It doesn’t matter how big or small, all donations taken and auctioned; a meal, a trip, an overnight stay, who knows what’s out there,” he said.
If you’d like to contribute, contact Mr Gow at jim.gow@salvationarmy.org.au
The event is on May 19, from 6pm to 9pm at the Shepparton Brewery.
Tickets are available here.
17°C