Autism Science Foundation Holds Silent Auction
Members of the Autism Science Foundation club ran a silent auction at Westchester Reform Temple on April 15. The first half hour of the event was dedicated to bidding and eating the luncheon catered by Buon Amici. The SHS a capella group For Good Measure performed during the second hour of the event, and Autism Science Foundation President Alison Singer was the guest speaker.
Co-club presidents Alexandra Levine ’12 and Lauren Alin ’12 met every Tuesday for months, working on the event with their officers Jackie Sharlach ’12, Niki Kass ’13, Andrea Quartner ’14 and Adam Rolison ’14. “It took a lot of planning in advance,” said Quartner. “We pretty much started planning it in the beginning of the year.”
Not only did they spend tedious hours organizing details such as musical entertainment, location, and food, but the presidents and officers also selected local stores willing to donate to the organization. “We had to talk to all our members and go to different stores in Scarsdale and other places to ask for donations,” said Levine. “We’ve done this event before, so we knew a lot of stores that would donate, but we wanted to get a broader range of products that everyone would want.”
The vast variety of products included Yankee tickets, YogoJoy gift cards, a signed baseball by David Wright, a signed basketball jersey by Dwayne Wade, tutoring, sports lessons, restaurant gift cards, toys from Learning Express, jewelry, bottles of wine, and a box of candles. “There weren’t any items that were relatively unpopular,” said Rolison. The bidding was generally spread evenly between the vast range of donated items, and every item was auctioned off.
“I bought the signed jersey by Dwayne Wade,” said Max Holiday, ’14. “I wouldn’t have gotten it if it wasn’t for the charity.”
“The goal of the auction was to raise a significant amount of money to fund scholarships for students who are going to study autism research,” said Rolison.
With a $5,000 profit, both club members and attendees agreed that the event was a massive success. “This fundraiser was a great way to get our club members involved, get other people in Scarsdale involved, and raise a lot of money,” said Kass.
“I thought the event was really well run,” said Sarah Elkins ’14. “I like[d] being there to support my friends who are in the club, and I loved when For Good Measure sang.”
“Going into it, we weren’t nervous, just mostly excited, but there’s always the chance that something could go wrong despite our careful planning,” admitted Quartner. “However, it ran very smoothly and was a huge success.” □
by Nicole Feibelman
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