Thank you for the wonderful coverage of the Kent Sunrise Rotary’s recent Harvest for the Community auction and awards dinner. M.C. Mike Painter put it best when he remarked on stage that “for a smaller club like ours – about 20 members – to put on an event such as this is no small feat.” Club president Tray Svendson concurred: “It is a ton of work, but look at the results!”
Preliminary numbers indicate the live auction raised $10,500, the silent auctions $8,100, the TV raffle $650, the wine raffle $2,080, the dessert dash $4,000 and, most impressively, the fund-a-cause raised $11,000 for Kent Youth & Family’s mental health program. After expenses, we should net just over $22,000.
Many of those who came attend a number of fundraising events every year, and it is heartwarming to see the outpouring of support from our community for our community. Thank you!
This annual fall dinner auction is the Sunrise Rotary Club’s major fundraiser to support projects we feel are important, like scholarships, providing a hard-cover dictionary for every third grade student in the Kent School District, recognizing middle school students and staff, and grants for special requests like the “Fresh Start” shower for homeless men.
Club president Tray Svendson sent an e-mail to members that I wanted to share. It gives you an indication of the kind of dedication it takes for volunteers to pull off an event that raises serious cash. He wrote, “Heartfelt thanks to the club for all the hard work on this year’s auction and a special thank-you to Joe and Lisa Potts for opening up their house and refrigerator for us every week for the past couple of months. We had one meeting where Joe could not attend but still welcomed us into his home. Steve ‘the organizer’ Kadlec did a great job of keeping our focus at these meetings as well as a ton of leg work and weekly updates via email. Everybody had a part in the success of this year’s auction and I was impressed with how everyone pulled together.”
I’m sure all the club members are relieved we don’t do this every month, but it sure was a beautiful event, and I’m proud of our award winners… and the behind-the-scenes stars, too.
Victoria Andrews
Sunrise Rotary of Kent
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