From the Seth Boyden PTA:
The Seth Boyden Elementary School PTA is pleased to unveil our 2022 online Earth Day Auction fundraiser. The auction will be open from Thursday April 21-Sunday April 24. In light of the theme, the PTA will be auctioning more services and experiences (rather than “stuff”) and highlighting local businesses – such as Java’s Compost – that lead the way with their commitment to environmental stewardship.
Other prize categories range from “Night Out” (including tickets to Come from Away), to “Kids Activities & Sports” (examples include one week of Summertime Surf School summer camp and a fall soccer session from First Kick Soccer) to “Adulting” (a “How to Save for College” financial planning consultation and a month of unlimited adult self-defense classes from American Jiu Jitsu).
“The auction committee is proud that we pulled together new prizes that reflect our community: SOMA is quirky, talented, socially and environmentally responsible, and NEVER boring,” said Seth Boyden Auction chair Katie Kaplan. “We are lucky enough to live in a community where there may actually be a bidding war over the opportunity to compost at home. The prizes featured capture the priorities and interests of this very interesting, engaged community.”
Mixed in with these more thematic, local prizes are some quirky, “surprise” choices – including a 3-day, 2-night “Kentucky Bourbon Trail” trip and a Wrigley Field Rooftop Experience – available this year through the PTA’s online auction platform, Galabid.
Another exciting first for this year: the chance to be Maplewood Kid Mayor or South Orange Village President for a day! Maplewood Mayor Dean Dafis and Village President Sheena Cullum have generously agreed to share their duties for a day (or really, a few hours). Exact agenda will be determined with the young protégés, but will certainly include a peek at public service and plenty of fun photo ops. Please note that no Kid Mayor or Kid Village President declared ordinances will be legally binding (including canceling school for the day).
The auction will also include an option to simply give a donation and is open to the SOMA community and beyond (grandparents!). All proceeds will support the Seth Boyden PTA. Seth Boyden serves a vibrant and diverse cross section of students in K-5th Grade in Maplewood and South Orange, New Jersey. It is the only Title 1 elementary school in our community, meaning that at least 43 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. The Seth Boyden PTA is committed to celebrating our school, while addressing needs brought about by economic disparity. PTA funding covers everything from keeping the teachers’ supply closet filled with vitals like tissues and extra notebooks to supplementing a grant for the innovative artist-in-residency Stepping Program.
The PTA would like to extend gratitude to the many businesses that stepped up with great enthusiasm, even during these challenging financial times, to support our school with auction prize donations.
How to participate:
- Go to https://app.galabid.com/sethboydenauction and click on “register” on the lefthand side and follow the instructions to register. It is recommended that you register BEFORE the auction starts (9 a.m. on Thursday April 21) so you are ready to start bidding.
- When you register you can choose whether you would like your name displayed when you bid, or if you would like to be “anonymous.”
- Bidding will continue throughout the auction. If you are the highest bidder on an item at 5 p.m. on April 24, you are the winner!
- Winning bidders will automatically receive a message letting them know what they won and an invoice with a link to the payment page. Payment is credit card only.
- A member of the PTA auction committee will be in touch with you before Sunday May, 1 with specifics about how to claim your prize! (Prizes will be emailed, delivered within the SOMA area, mailed, or some winners may contact business directly to coordinate)
Questions?
Reach out to sethboydenauction@gmail.com
Photos: Screenshot of auction on mobile platform; photos of projects – big and small – funded by the Seth Boyden PTA including the stepping program, a recent purchase of Seth Boyden library books for Autism Acceptance Month, and the garden!
