STORY BY ISABELLE BRAUN
Options Domestic and Sexual Violence Services will host its Seventh Annual Dinner Auction on Sept. 14 at the Rose Garden Banquet Hall.
Ticket sales have been extended and can be purchased by contacting Options at 785-625-4202 or by going to https://app.donorview.com/8Z1A.
“You can buy tickets all the way up to the event,” Executive Director Jennifer Hecker said. “It’s $30 for a single ticket, $50 for a couple, or you can invite 10 of your friends and buy a table for $250.”
The night will start at 6 p.m. with a cocktail hour, open bar and three-course meal, and proceed with a short program and then a live and silent auction until 10 p.m.
Items up for auction include several art pieces from local artists, wine, fashion, food, decorations and more. There will also be a raffle, and one item includes a big screen TV.
Options is a nonprofit that works with victims and survivors and their families of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, dating violence and human trafficking. This event is one of many put together by Options, but it is their biggest fundraiser of the year.
“Our fundraising goal this year is $25,000,” Hecker said. “This year, our sexual assault services have grown 685 percent in the last three years.
“Our domestic violence services have grown 384 percent in the last three years, so we are really working hard to raise money so we don’t even have to turn anyone away because we can’t afford to provide them services.”
In the past, Hecker said this fundraiser has been well received by the community with attendance hitting between 100 to 150 people each year.
While attendance is lower than in the past, Hecker hopes the community steps up in the days to come for this event as well as in the months to come.
Other upcoming events include a color run, Purple Light Nights, Trick or Treat on the Bricks, a 31 days of social media campaign, and a poetry reading at Breathe Coffeehouse, all of which will be taking place throughout October.
For now, Hecker is excited to see what the Dinner Auction allows them to do within the community.
“We’ve got some great items,” Hecker said. “We’re really excited to make some connections with new people that we can share our message with so we can spread our army of engaged people throughout the community.”