TV AUCTION RAISES CLOSE TO $69,000

Posted by Chris Woodrow

The bidding has ended for this year at the 2010 Rotary Auction on TV COGECO. The telephones are silent and the many volunteers who made the event successful are getting a much deserved rest. When the auction concluded at midnight on Saturday, over $68,612 was raised by the Rotary Club of Windsor-St. Clair and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario (Windsor-Essex County Chapter) to undertake important service work in our community.

"Many hours of planning and preparation go into the auction," says Chris Woodrow, chair of the 2010 organizing committee. "Without the generosity of local business donating the gifts, we wouldn't have an auction. I would like to thank them all for their community-minded spirit. This year we received close to 400 items. More than 60 volunteers, both Rotarians and others, who staffed the telephones and worked behind the scenes, deserve to be congratulated for a fine job. And the Windsor and Essex County community deserves a pat on the back for coming through for us in these difficult economic times. The Windsor Star was instrumental in promoting the auction and also deserves a vote of thanks."

The Heart and Stroke Foundation uses the monies raised to fund research, health promotion, and community improvement projects while the Rotary Club of Windsor-St. Clair also uses the money raised to benefit the community, and beyond. In the past, monies raised at the auction have benefited projects like the Ganatchio Trail, Shanfield Shores, and the Rotary boundary-free playground in the Town of Tecumseh.

his was the 24th year that the Rotary Club of Windsor-St. Clair has partnered with TV Cogeco to present a television auction and plans will soon be underway for the event next year. "The staff at Cogeco does a fabulous job for us," says Woodrow, "and as soon as we close the books on 2010, planning will begin for next year, the 25th anniversary of the event."