Sunday, May 18, 2008 10:48 PM CDT
YMCA's May Merriment nets about $84,000
By DAVE FOPAY, Staff Writer
dfopay@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON — With a theme of “Tropical Evening in Paradise,” a starfish was an appropriate decoration for Saturday evening’s annual May Merriment fundraiser for the Mattoon Area Family YMCA.
But YMCA Executive Director Michael Wall said he saw more significance with the starfish that Amy Spain, one of the event’s co-chairs, gave him. He told the crowd that packed the Grand Ballroom at the Eastern Illinois University union that it also tied into the organization’s mission.
Wall then told a story about a man walking on a beach who encountered another man who was picking up starfish and throwing them back into the ocean. After hearing the explanation that it was an attempt to save the creatures that washed up during low tide, the first man replied that there were too many to make a difference.
Undeterred, the second man took yet another starfish and tossed it back into the water.
“It made a difference to that one,” he said.
Saturday’s event ended up raising about $84,000, Wall said later. That compares to more than $100,000 it brought in last year and about $65,000 in 2006.
“It’s quite an honor for a community organization to have such thoughtful contributions,” Wall said.
Silent auction items offered by donors ranged from sports items autographed by famed athletes and coaches to home decor, tools, beach gear, jewelry, electronics and more.
In addition to more than 300 items offered during the silent auction, those in attendance were also able to square off by bidding on the 67 larger items offered during a live auction.
“The response to this year’s event has again been tremendous,” Wall said of the items donated for the auctions.
The values listed for some of the items up for bid included more than $18,000 for 1,200 commercial spots on the three stations of the Cromwell Radio Group, along with several such as a one-week vacation in a location worldwide listed as “priceless.”
Early bidding during the auction saw some buyers go away with good deals, such as a $1,600-value St. Louis Cardinals baseball package going for $850 and the use of either two jet skis or a Cadillac Deville for one week, valued at $800, with a winning bid of $250.
Other items on the block during the live auction ranged from a 50-inch flat screen plasma television to a GPS system to a package including tickets to Illini games, an outdoor grilling package including the grill and meat to serve, and, perhaps the night’s most practical item, a year’s worth of residential trash pickup service.
Wall said the money raised during the event will go to three areas: paying down debt on the YMCA’s swimming pool renovation from five years ago, program and facility enhancement, and financial and scholarship assistance for membership and programs.
May Merriment’s other co-chairs were Bud Spain and Joyce and Dick Lindsay.
Contact Dave Fopay at dfopay@jg-tc.com or 348-5733.
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