The Auction

I previously wrote about the painting which I was going to donate to a charity auction.

Last night was the annual dinner / auction held by the Ohio chapter of Amigos de las Américas.  As I have mentioned before, Amigos is a non-governmental, non-religious organization which sends high school and college students to Latin American countries to work on a variety of health and education projects.  Amigos do a great deal of good in the communities they serve, and it also provides the young volunteers with a life-changing experience.

This year the Ohio chapter will send twelve students to Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, and Paraguay.  The auction is the chapter's main fund raiser to enable these students to spend an unforgettable summer helping others.  It was held at a country club in Stow, Ohio.  Around 140 people were in attendance.  I went with three of my friends. 

There is a silent auction which is held before and during dinner, and a verbal auction of the more expensive donations is held after dinner.  For the silent auction there are several tables with a wide assortment of items.  One table is always filled with Latin American handicrafts, many of them brought back by student volunteers from the prior summer.  I donated a number of objects that I had purchased on my trips to Mexico during the past year.  I won the bidding on a lovely ceramic vase from Nicaragua.  There is also a table of gift baskets.  I had prepared a basket of artisanal soaps and bath products that I bought on my trips to Mexico.  I am happy to report that it sold for more than its retail value.  I won a basket of Ohio food products... many of them yummy treats from our nearby Amish country. 

At the verbal auction, my painting sold for $175.  There was a bidding war between one of my friends and a lady who purchased one of my paintings at last year's auction.  This is probably going to sound catty and egotistical... but I'm going to say it.  There was another painting in the verbal auction, a large abstract donated by a professional artist and valued at $1500.  Of course it would have been wonderful if it had brought in scads of money.  But as an amateur painter who has never had any art training, I couldn't help but feel of twinge of satisfaction when my painting sold for more than the professional artwork.

My friends and I all had a great time.  We went home with some nice items, and felt good about helping a very worthwhile cause.

Your can read more about Amigos de las Américas HERE.