Service Trips Auctions

By Emily Apisa
Collegian Staff
February 13, 2008

Twenty La Salle students are heading down to Mexico this spring break and will most likely return with a glowing tan, but this will not be due to hours worshipping the sun while sipping margaritas. Instead these philanthropic students will spend a week mixing cement and interacting with the local community for the La Salle service trip titled Los Ninos.

In addition to Mexico, La Salle students will also be traveling to Kentucky, North Carolina and even Tanzania with their respective service trip titles being Project Appalachia, Habitat for Humanity and Project Mapendo.

Emily Apisa - Members of Los Ninos auction off a dining room set.

In order to finance these trips, an auction was held on Thursday, Feb. 7 in the Union Ballroom. The auction generated about $20,000. This represents a generous portion of the total $90,000 that is needed to support transportation and various expenses of the four service trips.   

The Los Ninos project coordinators are in charge of the general organization of the auction, which includes the live bidding, the silent auction and the newly incorporated basket bidding. In years past, the basket bidding was reserved for Charter Day, but this year it was jumpstarted on the same night as the auction.   

Los Ninos project coordinator Pilar Napolitano, junior nursing major, was an integral part in the putting together of the auction night. She recalled the months of preparation that went into the important evening.  

“A lot of hard work was put into it, but in the end it’s really worth it,” she said.  

The auction served as a fast and effective way to raise such a substantial amount of money.  

About 200 people were in attendance. According to Napolitano, many more students participated than last year’s auction. 

The prizes that were auctioned off ranged from minimal to the extravagant. Examples include gift certificates to various local restaurants, sports memorabilia and DVDs. Some donated services were unexpected such as the “Enchanted Evening” at the B8 townhouse, which included dinner entertainment and a guest appearance by Copernicus the resident caribou.

The big sellers included two shore house stays and a pair of Southwest Airline plane tickets to anywhere in the continental United States. 

When bidding for a week’s stay at an Ocean City, Md shore house began it turned into survival of the fittest. Two students went head to head during the live auction, paddles flying and friends cheering. Finally the bidding stopped at $1,400, which more than doubled the actual retail price of $750.

“The bidding got really intense,” said attendee Lindsey Gano, freshman communication major.  

Gano’s friend Liz Cancel, freshman psychology major, won the shore house, which they and a few friends plan to stay at over summer break.   

Napolitano thinks the enthusiasm this year was great.   

“Students are really able to show their passion for the trips,” she said.   

Sara Brennan, freshman communication major and participant in Project Appalachia, worked the event and was able to witness the energy that everyone had.   

“I was not expecting it to be this lively,” she said. “I had a great time and I think we were really able to achieve our goal at the event.”   

The prizes were gathered through the hard work of the service trip participants. The students went into surrounding communities including Manayunk and Chestnut Hill and asked local businesses to donate products and services. Also families of the students donated items to be auctioned off.

Other ways that the service trips generate funds is through the sale of candy and basket bingo. Letter writing is another way in which money is raised. The 100 students that are involved in the four service trips write letters to family friends and businesses to ask for donations. If enough money is not raised grants are also available to help the service trips and their efforts.

apisae1@lasalle.edu