RECAP OF our annual 5k & Quilt Day on Saturday, August 1, 2020
This year, our annual 5K and Quilt Auction looked a little bit different than in years past but we are still rejoicing over the success of the day and are in continuous awe of how God provides!
In the weeks leading up to our important annual event, we received many emails and phone calls from people wondering how this was going to work, at a time that we weren't exactly sure ourselves. Weeks ahead, we had inquired and had discussion with past quilt auction participants and volunteers considering the different aspects of the event we might have to reconsider. This included a big unknown - with COVID as part of our lives since February, would we have quilts?
We moved forward with planning, praying the quilts would come. We
secured The Whitaker Group (who helped us make the Gala happen
online in the spring) as our auctioneers and decided to take the Quilt
Auction online for 2020. Despite the auction going online, it was still
important for us to provide a safe, controlled viewing opportunity for
those people who enjoy seeing the impressive quilt works up close.
As soon as we put the word out that the 5K & Quilt Day was taking place,
we began to welcome quilts in our office - 129 in fact! Turns out there
was plenty of quilting going on, even during the quarantine.
One of the neat benefits of taking our Quilt Auction online was that
bidding was essentially available to anyone, anywhere. In fact, the virtual auction also allowed bidders to begin participating when the auction officially opened on Monday, July 27. We received abundant positive feedback from Riverside friends who have always wanted to be at the Quilt Auction but have just lived too far away to come.
Our first viewing opportunity was on Friday evening, July 31. We welcomed a handful of guests and bidders to camp to enjoy lemonade, tea, and cookies while they viewed the quilts so beautifully displayed in the chapel.
On Saturday, we still started our day with a 5K, but it was a "Run Your Own 5K" instead. We had several past participants and even some new faces join us at camp early Saturday morning to run and walk the beautiful 5K course prepared by our team.
We gathered at 9:15 am for an outdoor worship service under the oak trees in front of the Chapel. After that, we opened up our Chapel to guests and bidders to see the 129 amazingly-crafted quilts.
Another tradition that we didn't abandon was the amazing lunch prepared by our talented hospitality staff with the help of Al Hermanson on the grill, with delicious turkey breasts from Woodland Farms. Spaced-out tables were available in the Dining Hall along with picnic tables outside and on the patio for families to spread out and enjoy great food and conversation. Food was prepared in "to-go" containers and our free-will offering produced $340 of proceeds that were added to the success of the day.
At 12:30 pm the online auction began to close. Some items closed right away and the winners were informed, while other items that had continued competitive bidding going on remained open until bidding concluded. In the end, after all the bids and payments were settled, the quilts alone brought in $22,635 to the ministry of Riverside Bible Camp!
Wondering how this compares to last year?
SPECIAL THANKS GOES OUT TO:
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Whitaker Marketing
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Woodland Farms
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Martin Brothers
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Barbara Schendel
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Betty Grinde
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Our terrific year-round and small summer 2020 team of staff at Riverside
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All of our dedicated quilters
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All participants who hopped on and gave this new format for the Quilt Auction a try - we are grateful!
