A four-day getaway on an island off the Maine coast, tickets to see the shows "Annie" or "The Nutcracker" at the Oakdale Theater, and free snow shoveling, yard work or baby-sitting services are among the items that will be auctioned off during the fourth annual Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Benefit Auction at the School of Medicine. The event, which raises money for area homeless shelters and food banks, is being held on Friday, Nov. 22, noon-1:30 p.m. in the Mary S. Harkness Auditorium of Sterling Hall of Medicine, 333 Cedar St. It is open to members of the University community, free of charge.
The benefit includes both a live and a silent auction, with items donated by Yale faculty, staff and students as well as local businesses. Free ice cream, donated by cosponsor Ben & Jerry's, will be offered to the first 250 people to attend the auction, which is also being sponsored by the Medical School Committee Overseeing Volunteer Services and the Office of Education and Student Affairs.
"It's a really fun event with a party atmosphere -- and all for a good cause," says Kristin Boger, a second-year medical student and one of the organizers of the auction. "Everyone gets really into it because so many students and faculty members gave things, and everyone wants to know who got what [item being auctioned]. This year, we got a lot more donations than we had last year, so that's really exciting for us."
Students from the medical school and the School of Nursing helped organize the auction, beginning their work some two months ago. They invited faculty members and businesses to donate items and visited all of the donors for last year's auction to ask them to participate again. As yet unable to offer weekend getaway cabins or sailing trips, many students decided to offer free services, showing a willingness even to do housecleaning and pet-sitting.
Other students are offering meals with special themes that they will cook themselves, says Ms. Boger, who, along with some friends, donated "An Evening with Don Quixote," a meal for four with a Spanish theme. Four medical school students who share an apartment on Canner Street have donated a barbecued meal at their home, which for the special event will take on the name "The Canner Street Grille"
Among the other items being auctioned are breakfast with President Richard C. Levin; sailing and lunch with Medical School Dean Dr. Gerard N. Burrow; dinner with Dr. Edwin C. Cadman, chief of staff at Yale-New Haven Hospital; a weekend in Vermont with medical school chaplain Dr. Allan C. Mermann he'll cook breakfast, lunch and dinner ; anatomy professor Dr. William B. Stewart's classic bow tie; tickets to the Yale Repertory and Shubert theaters; cases of wine; exercise bikes; gift certificates to local shops; and dinners at local restaurants. More than 120 individuals and local businesses have made contributions to the auction, Ms. Boger says.
Last year's Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Benefit Auction raised over $10,000, which was distributed to more than 20 charities.
For more information, contact the Office of Education and Student Affairs at 737-2539.