- April 18, 2024
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The online auction and other efforts countywide brought in enough to cover operation costs for the first year and then some, at the Carver Center.
After almost two months of online bidding, the auction to raise funds for the Carver Center, a proposed renovation to Carver Gym, came to an end June 15. The final total raised: $7,000.
According to Youth Center Director and Carver Center Director Cheryl Massaro, the auction itself raised just under $6,000. The rest was brought in from donations, as well as an additional $1,000 earned at a Youth Center talent show, and another $138 from a Mardy Gilyard signed football raffle at the Potato Festival.
“We already have our first year’s money raised,” Massaro said. “It’s been a very positive reaction from the community and everybody involved … to bring Carver Center to life again.”
Yearly operating expenses are about $5,000 for the center, including furniture, games and general supplies. The other $2,000, according to Massaro, will go toward starting a savings account to insulate the building — a $40,000 job, potentially.
Massaro has also applied for two grants, which could bring in $25,000. A response on each is expected within two weeks.
“This is a particularly wonderful report to make,” announced County Commissioner Barbara Revels, also president of the Carver Foundation, at a June 20 County Commission meeting. Her goal was far surpassed, she said. “I dreamed $5,000.”
The auction’s top selling item was a Marineland kayak tour for two, led by Ripple Effects Ecotours guide Chris Kelly, which sold for $500.
Massaro said she hopes the auction will become an annual event.
Contact Mike Cavaliere at [email protected].
