On Wednesday, March 21st, the anticipation finally ended. The moment the clock struck 8:30 a.m. students and staff opened their hearts and their wallets on the bidding floor of the 2018 Student Auction. The annual event took over the DSHA Commons as tables overflowed with student and staff-donated goodie baskets, artwork, clothing, experiences, and events. All of the items were accompanied by a bidding sheet where students wrote their bid, and thus their donation, to this year’s Lenten organization, Catholic Relief Services (CRS).

 

Each year, DSHA students choose an international cause to support during the Lenten season, raising money through activities held at school, with the student auction being the largest source of funding for the cause. Senior Campus Ministry Officer Cookie Topp shares, “In the past our Lenten projects have helped with things that are not necessarily tangible, like education, or support for refugees – things students couldn’t see. This year we wanted to pick something so that students and donors could physically see the difference they are making.”

 

CRS will help DSHA students see and connect with the difference they are making this year. As an international emergency-response organization supported by the Catholic church, CRS supplies emergency aid to disaster-stricken countries such as Burkina Faso in West Africa, this year’s benefactor of the DSHA Lenten project. All of the money raised at the auction will fund a mobile food pack on April 21^st. 30,000 nutrient-dense meals will be packed in the DSHA gym by student, parent and alumnae volunteers. The meals will then be sent to Burkina Faso through CRS.

 

Throughout Lent, the Campus Ministry Student Auction team helped equip their fellow Dashers with information about hunger around the world. Before daily prayer, a fact about world hunger was shared to the entire student body. And on Ash Wednesday, students were encouraged to “weigh their waste” at lunch to promote saving food – and a sense of gratitude for the food that they have access to each day.

 

“By sharing facts about what the rest of the world faces, it helps us be grateful for what we have,” Topp shares. “I think people don’t understand that people don’t have dinner or water every day. So by stating the facts and giving visuals to see and experience, we hope it impacts our own behavior. The greater the awareness, the bigger the desire to help address the problem.”

 

Senior Campus Ministry Officer Grace Kaupp experienced the issue of third-world hunger firsthand on a recent mission trip. “Last summer I went to Jamaica for a service trip and saw the poorest of the poor,” Kaupp shares. “For them to get one bowl of rice a day is a blessing, and the fact that we can pack 30,000 meals is so meaningful. I hope the people receiving these meals feel the love we have for them. But I also hope the people volunteering at the food pack realize how blessed we are, and will leave motivated and ready to come together as a community to fight hunger.”

 

In order to get to the point of holding the food pack for Burkina Faso on April 21^st, students had the lofty goal of raising enough money to fund the pack itself. “The Student Auction Team and I put in so much hard work to make the day a huge success, and we ended up far exceeding our goal of $12,000. Not only did we raise a large monetary donation, but our team and the school also had a great time doing it,” said senior Auction Coordinator Anna Baumgartner.

 

Senior Anna Hughes says, “My favorite part [of the auction] is how people recognize the importance of the cause and display their willingness to support it through their bids.” And bid they do! This year’s auction was the most successful in its eight-year history with over $15,000 raised in a single day.

 

Some of the most profitable items included a mystery gift card basket, a catered lunch from Leff’s Lucky Town, dinner with theology teacher Mr. Pavlovich and his family, and a fish-themed basket including a live betta fish named KB.

 

Another reason behind this year’s outstanding success was the sale of tickets to a show by YouTube star Charlie Berens. Berens is the comedian brother of English teacher Andrew Berens, and he generously offered to perform a stand-up show at DSHA on the night of the food pack – to help raise money and celebrate the success.

 

“I’m so grateful for Charlie Beren’s help raising money for our Lenten project! I can’t wait to see the show with the DSHA community to support CRS,” said Junior Reegan Schmidt.

 

The ticket sales alone raised over $2,000 on the day of the auction, and will be sold again on the night of the show for $20 each.

 

The DSHA community has truly come together to support the joint effort with CRS, because as the Campus Ministry Auction logo says, “kids gotta eat!”

 

If you would like to help take part in this DSHA community-wide effort on April 21st, you can: