Katrina auction raises $1,225

The bidding war began Wednesday Oct. 26 at 10 a.m.

Students slowly but surely proceeded to the lower level of the Barone Campus Center in hopes of receiving both a prize and the peace of mind in knowing their money was going towards Hurricane Katrina victims.

The silent auction was the brain-child of a newly formed organization called Campus Cares. Co-chairs Mike Barrett ’07 and Nazia Sultan ’07 put forth special effort since this event was the club’s debut fundraiser.

“I was overwhelmed that we had already broken the $1,000 mark mid-day,” said Barrett. “It really does exemplify that students are involved and really are concerned.”

He explained that student concern, awareness, and raising money for a good cause are some of Campus Cares’ goals. In obtaining the various auction items, club members requested products and gift certificate donations from various local businesses. They received a positive response. Many Fairfield organizations joined in with their own contributions.

WVOF pitched in by contributing both a few auction items and live disc jockeying from 12 to 2 p.m. to attract potential bidders.

Computer Networking Services contributed the very popular I-Pod shuffle to the auction.

“I was surprised at the quality of items donated and how high people bid,” said Colleen Mannix ’08.

The I-Pod shuffle was one of the most sought after items of the 17 total items. There were many bids and the music device ended up going for $130.

Another highly sought item was donated by the Fairfield Community Theatre. This prize featured the opportunity for the highest bidder and friends to have the entire theatre to themselves for a private viewing of a favorite DVD. This prize went for $110.

Students, such as Marc Hansel ’08, were more willing to spend money on these items, since they knew that it would all be going towards the more than 79,000 victims of Hurricane Katrina.

“I think it was an especially good event since 100 percent of the profit was for charity,” said Hansel. “There seemed to be a lot of students getting involved.”