Cancer Center’s Online Auction Brings Out Best in Donors, Buyers
Bidding at MaryBirdAuction.com Ends November 19th
*Change Year to 2006
Since Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center’s auction website was activated on October 18, in excess of $50K in bids have been placed on over 350 items in just a little over three weeks. And new items are being added to the website regularly, some only for a limited time -- like six box seats at “The Breeders’ Cup” at historic Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY on November 4, 2006. Donated on October 17, bidding for this item ended at noon, November 1. “We had no trouble selling them,” said Don Minor, auction chair. “The seats were located on the finish line, four rows off the rail!”
Items are still being donated and posted to the auction website, such as time-sensitive LSU football tickets, a wedding ring and clothes for your pet. “It is support like this from both donors and bidders alik that makes this event so exciting. There’s something for virtually everyone,” said Interim Event Director Bunnie Cannon. “The generosity of the community in supporting Mary Bird Perkins and its C.A.R.E. Network is heartwarming and overwhelming.”
Currently, another recent donation is causing quite a stir. Three bottles of a rare and extremely delicate vintage of Chateau Margaux 1976 have been given to the auction. All bottles have been inspected by a sommelier and are on the website at a suggested worth of $1000 per bottle. Additionally, a bottle of Churchill’s Port (1990) and Warre’s Port (1990) are also available. These items will all remain on the website until the auction ends at precisely at 4 p.m. (CDT) on Sunday, November 19.
With only a little more than a week to the end of the auction, be sure and visit www.MaryBirdAuction.com on a daily basis to see what’s new!
Funds raised from visit MaryBirdAuction.com are reinvested in the community through the C.A.R.E. Network which provides vital support and educational services for cancer patients and their families. Nearly 100 free cancer screenings have been scheduled for 2006 across southeast Louisiana and by year-end it is estimated nearly 4,000 people will have benefited. Equally as important, funds are also used to provide treatment for indigent patients in need of quality cancer care.
For those who prefer to place bids by telephone, call-in bidding will be available on November 19 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at (225) 490-CURE.
Merrill Lynch is the underwriting sponsor of Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center’s auction for the sixth year. Presenting sponsors for this year’s event are All Star Automotive Group and Capital One.
About the Center and its C.A.R.E. Network:
Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center is the only independent, community-owned, nonprofit cancer treatment, education and research facility in the State. Serving a 15-parish region in southeast Louisiana, it provides state of the art radiation therapy to all patients, regardless of ability to pay. The Center’s C.A.R.E. Network (Cancer Support Services, Awareness and Education, Research and Early Detection), established in 2002 to reduce cancer incidence and mortality in southeast Louisiana and to improve the quality of life for those affected by cancer, is funded by gifts from the community. Annually, it provides hundreds of free programs to thousands of patients and healthcare professionals, as well as to the public each year. The Center has facilities in Baton Rouge, Covington and Hammond.