PARKERSBURG - The SW Resources' 31st annual Harvest of Opportunities Benefit Auction on Saturday has been deemed a success, an organizer said.
"Everything went wonderfully," said Ben Summers, SW Resources marketing and sales manager. "Almost 200 people attended and we raised more than $90,000."
Summers said donations are still coming into the organization's Seventh Street office, so the final amount of how much was raised will not be available for a few more days to a week.
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Photo by Jolene Craig
Patty Lovell of Vienna inspects items as she prepares to bid in the silent auction of the 31st annual Harvest of Opportunities Benefit Auction on Saturday.
"We are very, very happy and grateful to have been able to raise so much money with the community's support," he said.
The auction included hundreds of items from a 50-inch LCD 3D Smart television, iPad 2, Lillian Chao painting, an oversized handmade rocking chair and three trips to Canaan Valley Resort as well as sports items such as season tickets to West Virginia University football games and season passes to Parkersburg and Parkersburg South high school football games.
Last year's auction netted about $95,000 for the agency and was named in honor of Sammy Burdette, who passed away last November after 40 years working for SW Resources.
"Last year we were very lucky to have raised $95,000 and were shocked to have raised almost that much this year since last year was in Sammy's name," Summers said. "Really, the fact that we have been able to pull so much money in is fantastic."
Summers said that while the auction is the only true fundraiser SW Resources has each year, the money raised includes funds from events held by others on behalf of the organization.
"The auction is the only fundraiser SW Resources has, but the $90,000 represents all of the fundraising efforts on our behalf in the last year," he said.
Those efforts include the annual golf outing and the Cause 2 Wine wine tasting held in early August by other community members.
All of the funds from the auction and other events go to the SW Resources workshop and helps with the organization's job placement program.
SW Resources provides employment opportunities and vocational services to 250 client-employees with disabilities. The client-employee wages were more than $2 million, a record high, in 2011, said Summers.
"We truly appreciate all of our volunteers, donors and the entire community for helping us through these events," he said.
