Sister to Sister held its annual Breast Cancer Auction Wednesday in the Spotts World Culture auditorium which auctioned off 19 people in order to raise money and awareness for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Sister to Sister is a student organization on campus that provides an opportunity for all women to express themselves through positive influence.
President of Sister to Sister and senior hospitality event management and tourism major, Dymond Scott, said that the auction is a fun way to raise publicity for a wonderful cause.
Scott reached out to SPARK, a club that strengthens positivity and reinforces kindness around campus, to be a part of the event. She also set up a table in the student center which informed people about the event and had a sign-up sheet for anyone interested.
Nineteen people were auctioned off at the event including SPARK members, Sister to Sister members, Delta Zeta members and people who didn’t sign up beforehand.
SPARK President, Kaylee Kilmer, and SPARK Public Relations Chair, Carolyn Ferrick, were both asked to be auctioned off, Kilmer said.
Each person being auctioned off walked in front of the audience and had information about themselves shared. The bids would then start, and once the highest was called out, the person was bought for that amount.
No date was required at the end of the auction. A picture was taken and the fundraiser went on.
Sophomore resort, recreation and hospitality management major, Kennedy Moore, is a general body member for Sister to Sister and was auctioned off at the event.
“I was nervous at first, but the crowd was very supporting and I had friends in the audience keeping my nerves down,” Moore said.
Senior integrated marketing communication major, Catharyn Burton, attended the event and said it’s good to be a part of a cause that supports breast cancer awareness.
“It’s a great way to bring people together in support of breast cancer awareness,” Burton said.
Scott wanted to get the crowd interacted in an entertaining way by having a segment of multiple choice questions which allowed the attendees to learn more about breast cancer, Scott said.
Scott said there was a great turnout and almost $500 was raised at the event that went to support breast cancer awareness.
The highest bidder at the event spent $140 to buy his girlfriend for the night.
“It was a huge accomplishment because the event usually makes $100 or $200,” Scott said.
Scott said this event is important because everyone knows someone who has been affected by breast cancer and once students showed up, they were almost forced to learn more about it with everything that the event provided.
Scott said it was an awareness session because people want to see who goes through these struggles and it’s exciting and important for people to learn, Scott said.
“I think it’s important because people know about it, but I don’t believe they take the time to sit down and know the specifics and actually realize how many people it affects,” Scott said.
Scott said that there are commercials and billboards, but it is seldom that people take time out of their day to seek knowledge.
