Clarion Rotary plans community fundraiser

From staff reports

The Clarion Rotary Club will hold its annual community fundraiser Tuesday through Saturday, April 20-24.

Donations of items from more than 250 local businesses worth more than $45,500 in cumulative value, will be sold through the online bidding event.

Bidding on more than 330 individual items will kick off at 6 a.m. on April 20, but people may pre-register and browse through the items now at www.clarionrotary.com.

“We have thousands of dollars in gift cards to auction off as well as memberships, tickets, hotel stays, jewelry and electronics,” said the fundraiser committee chairperson Casey O’Toole.

Bidding on the items will work differently this year with the online format versus previous years when the event functioned through a call-in radio system. Bidders need only to register with an email address and complete a log-in process to participate.

Bidding will occur live and in real time and bidders may place proxy bids allowing them continued opportunities to win items, even while not in front of their computers. Outbid notices will be emailed to bidders allowing for additional bids to be placed in order to potentially win an item.

People may use cash, checks or credit cards to pay for the items they purchase on pickup day, which is slated for Sunday, April 25, at the Clarion Area Chamber of Business & Industry. Paid receipts will be required to pick up items at the chamber office and to schedule services from donating businesses, O’Toole said.

Funds raised through the event are used by the Rotary club to support local students in the form of five academic and civic-related scholarships and the community through support of the local YMCA and the Clarion Hospital Cancer Center.

O’Toole estimated that the event raises between $23,000 and $25,000 each year.

More information about the fundraiser is available by sending an email to clarionrotarycommunityauction@gmail.com.