The 2012 Senior All-Night Party Committee’s online auction will be ending on April 7 at 11:59 p.m. The auction features over 75 items, donated by local businesses, such as food, gift certificates, concert tickets and car service coupons for which community members can bid either above or below the face value.
The online auction has been held, according to committee co-chair Valerie Hayes, for a number of years; this is the second auction that she is coordinating.
Approximately 17 of the 75 items have yet to receive bids, making the committee’s goal of raising at least $2,000 from the auction difficult; so far, the committee has 80 percent of their annual budget of $72,000 on hand. Hayes recalls that in past years, the committee has been easily able to generate around $2,500. An extra $1,000 of additional funds came from an annual Macy’s fundraiser. Because the fundraiser did not take place this year, the committee remains short of funding.
In addition to the possibility of having relatively less funds for the event, according to Hayes, the projected attendance for Senior All-Night Party is about 64 percent, four percent less than it was last year at this time.
If enough funds are not raised through ticket sales, auctions and donations, Hayes foresees cuts being made to the event. Because of this, she recommends that seniors interested in attending buy their tickets before Spring Break to maintain their funds, as committee co-chair Barbara Goldman stated that much of the committee’s budget is provided for by ticket sales. However, the committee is not concerned about the number of total ticket sales, as they anticipate a similar number of seniors attending as they have over the past few years.
“We put a lot of our heart and soul into running this party and trying to make a really fun and safe event,” Hayes said. “And we hope that a majority of the graduating class will attend.”
Hayes feels that the online auction is the result of a number of volunteers and parents working together to reach their fundraising goal. Committee volunteer Anand Ramamurthy maintains the Senior All-Night Party website and updates the bids overnight, FUHSD Board of Trustees President Hung Wei solicits money from local businesses, committee corresponding secretary Teresa Parry sends thank you notes to donors and committee secretary Jill Nakamura tracks items and donations.
“We’re pretty confident that things will be okay. In the past we’ve never had that problem of not having enough money …Right now it’s just kind of scary wondering what’s going to happen if we actually don’t have the money,” Goldman said. “But it’ll work out.”
The online auction form can be viewed here. Bids will not be accepted after 11:59 p.m. on April 7 and committee volunteers will deliver the items to their respective highest bidders before Spring Break. For more information and updates about the Senior All-Night Party event and planning, visit their website and Facebook page. Tickets for the event can be purchased by filling out this form and turning it into the MVHS office; after Spring Break the ticket prices will increase to $175.
