This year's auction took place at the Hilton Hotel on City Ave., and featured over 135 items, which were bid on through a silent auction process. There were also 11 items that were bid on during a live auction that took place after guests were treated to a lavish meal.
The items were donated by charitable businesses and individuals in the community, which helped Interac raise close to $45,000.
"This funding goes to support all Interac programs," said Ann Tydeman-Solomon, Development Director at Interac. "It gives us some flexibility to put money where it is needed most and to put money into programs that aren't fully funded through reimbursements or otherwise."
State Representative Kathy Manderino and Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham participated as guest auctioneers at the event. Mandarino auctioned off a tour of Washington D.C. that was donated by Sen. Arlen Spector, while Abraham auctioned off a lunch at Lacroix restaurant that she and the winner will have.
Many of the other auction items ranged from smaller items, like a few pizza pies or gift certificates, to more expensive items like a cruise to either Alaska or the Caribbean, which is usually the most costly item. Sheldon Weintraub, Interac Community Liaison, said the cruise usually brings in between $1500-$1600.
"Each year is better than the last," Weintraub said. "We unite the neighborhood as far as businesses and the people who live here, and each year we get more and more people from the area."
Among those attending the event were Joseph Diviak and his wife, Ruthie Horton. The two 89-year-olds each published their memoirs in book form. Diviak's book, When I Get Big I'm Leavin', is the tale of an immigrant's son who leaves behind an Appalachian coal-mining town, while Horton's work, A Courageous Woman: Memoirs of a Tenacious Person, tells about her own life experiences of having been born and reared on an Appalachian farm, and the loss of her father at an early age.
The couple moved to Righter St. in 1991, and have been involved with Interac for the past two years. While Horton took advantage of some of the health services offered by Interac, her husband attended a computer class. Together, they purchased five raffle tickets for the car, and they attended the event with Horton's daughter and son-in-law, who were celebrating their 42nd wedding anniversary.
At Weintraub's spontaneous suggestion, Diviak and Horton donated signed copies of their books to the auction, and the books raised $50.
Another person who enjoyed this year's events was Interac board member Dee Hurt of Landsdowne. This is her second year attending the event. She is a geriatric care manager, and got involved with Interac through a collegue.
"Interac provides services in a variety of ways and what they are doing for the community is helping those to acheive quality potential," Hurt said. "Some of the staff has been their 15-20 years and they do a great job."
She said she didn't win anything at the auction because of stiff competition, but that this one event where losing out is always a good thing. She spoke on things she'd like to see for next year's event.
"We always want to top what we did the previous year," she said. "We're always trying to come up with ways to improve [the fundraiser] and make it bigger and better."
Both Sheldon Weintraub and Ann Tydeman-Solomon said this year's auction was a success, and wished to extend a special thanks to Harry Calibresi, the owner of Golden Chrysler-Plymouth-Jeep, for not only offering to donate the car, but also giving two 27-inch televisions, a portable television, a VCR, and a VCR/DVD player combination.
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