Breakfast has been served and Sherrie Favell and her team are gearing up for their annual live auction for Variety – the Children’s Charity on Saturday, Feb. 4.
Favell and her committed team – Brenda Dehnke, Vickie, Brenda and Donna Douglas, Penny and Cindy Favell, Sheila Bibby, Deb Turner, BJ Baron and their families cooked and served breakfast to well over 100 people at the legion on Sunday.
In this their eighth annual breakfast, they raised another $1,200 for Variety. Earlier this year, the team collected $1,400 worth of refundable beverage containers in their third annual bottle drive.
This is the 23rd year for the live auction, which rolls out at noon Saturday, under the able direction of auctioneers Noel Tarzwel, Wilf Blain and Gil Havanka.
Along with a wide variety of items donated by local businesses and individuals, hamburgers and lots of draws will also be on the menu.
“All the Salmon Arm people who support us, they get hit up so bad,” laughs the dynamo who’s not above calling out, nudging people to bid. “We have our regular businesses who pull through for us every year.
On a serious note, Favell says she and her volunteers support Variety because they help children and their families cope with the expenses illness and injury can bring.
“We all know what it’s like for parents to have something devastating happen to their children, and the adults want to be with their kids,” she says. “But how can they be without help?”
Favell is proud that the community has raised enough money to have Salmon Arm’s name on the side of several Variety buses in the Lower Mainland – at $20,000 a pop.
And money raised here comes back here in the form of funding and medical equipment for treating children at Shuswap Lake General Hospital.
Doors to Saturday’s auction open at 11 a.m. and Favell says if people have items they would like to donate, there’s still time to take them to the legion. Donors may also call 250-832-3157 to arrange pick-up.