Online auction ends on a high note

Times Contributor

 

An online auction that started out as a way to help a couple families with a few hundred dollars has far exceeded expectations. Bobby Jo Wiebe began the auction for those affected by the flood in the Carseland-Wyndham area. Things quickly progressed and as the word spread the auction took on a life of its own. 

“This was my first time doing an auction online and I absolutely would do it again for a good cause on a large scale to support something people are passionate about,” said Wiebe. 

“What makes it special is that the items in the auction were signed straight from the source, if I gather more signed items in the future straight from the sources I would do it again.”

Never once did Wiebe expect the auction to succeed as well as it did – the total amount raised was $11,325. 

“It doesn’t surprise me because (there are) so many people with big hearts. We were fortunate to get the support from both the community and even as far as the United States,” said Wiebe. 

On August 1 Wiebe visited nine families in the Wyndham Valley to disperse the funds raised. She had originally called 11 families, and two of them requested she help their neighbours instead. 

The whole experience has left Wiebe overwhelmed with emotion and thankful to live in such a wonderful community. Those who helped with this auction are also people who have donated and done what they could to help other areas such as Siksika, High River, Calgary and other affected areas.

“There are still a lot of challenges for these families to get through. This is only a small part of what they need,” said Wiebe. 

“I send a heartfelt thank you to all those people who got involved with this. The families were in return emotional and grateful.”