Last Saturday, the Rotary Club of Renton held its 43rd annual CAPER auction. CAPER for those of you that don’t know, stands for Community Auction Promoting the Endeavors of Rotary. I left the event in sheer awe of the caring people in this community. Even with an economy ailing, a record number of attendees showed up and gave their hearts out not only financially, but in volunteer hours to make this event a resounding success.
The rooms at the Renton Community Center dazzled with black, white and red decorations emphasizing this year’s race car themed “3-2-1 GIVE!” Cugini’s Florist
designed breathtaking floral arrangements — scattered all over the building. Renton Technical College
caterers prepared an outstanding meal. Three separate rooms were overflowing with gift baskets, handmade items, art work, over-the-top trips, parties and gift certificates, all generously donated. Emcee Eric Black, with his trademark sense of humor, kept the live auction lively and the auctioneer secured high bids for most items.
Something new to this year’s event was a golden raffle — for a $100 donation you had a 1 in 100 opportunity to get anything from the live auction. This earned Rotary $10,000 right off the bat. Attendees had the opportunity to view a video presentation, prepared by local photographer-extraordinaire Bruce Hudson, which highlighted some recent recipients of Rotary grants. They included the Northwest Burn FoundationNorthwest Burn Foundation, the Renton Clothes BankRenton Clothes Bank, a University of Washington scholarship recipient, Pediatric Interim Care Center and the Salvation Army Food Bank. It should be duly noted that radio celeb Delilah donated her time to do the voiceover of the video.
Each year, the club also does a reverse auction for a special cause. This year, the cause was dictionaries for third graders. I will admit that I wasn’t sure this particular cause would “move” everyone to give. That is, until I saw the video presentation. The children are empowered by these dictionaries. For many, it’s the first book they have ever owned. Their parents, grandparents and siblings teach themselves to read with the dictionaries. I was moved to tears, much to the amusement of two of my tablemates, who justly called me a sap! And, the Rotarians and guests WERE moved by the presentation. They raised their auction paddles to the tune of approximately $16,000!
Whether you attended the event, bought a raffle ticket, a small or large item, or contributed to a dictionary – there is much to be proud of in this community and thanks to the Rotary Club which continues to work hard to make a difference. And, special thanks to Terry Higashiyama, CAPER chair this year, for her tremendous amount of hard work.
Susan Bressler is an active member of a number of Renton organizations, including Piazza Renton. E-mail her at scbressler@comcast.net.
