Over three hundred people were at Windsor Park Conference Center on Thursday, September 22 for Mishawaka Education Foundation’s Annual Silent Auction. This year it was called Growing the Future, with about 290 people showing up to attend the event. Along with the guests attending for the dinner there were 25 Mishawaka High School students who volunteered, including eight orchestra students showing up to play.
Altogether, the auction raised about $27, 500 with items like wine, Disney tickets, football game tickets, gift baskets, gift cards for local restaurants and stores, and even art from MHS’s own AP art class. The most popular items were Notre Dame memorabilia, Mishawaka items, and anything involving food.
Many different types of people showed up to support Mishawaka, including alumni classes of 1916, 1948, 1967, 1970, students, sponsors, members of the school board, and even person friends of Jane Wright, the woman who runs the event. They primarily heard about it from emails, invitations, and connections. Sponsors include ICU Medical, Advanced Imaging Solutions, 1st Source Bank, IUSB, and Umbaugh. According to Wright, the most important person at the event was Robert Beutter, the former mayor of Mishawaka and a Mishawaka High alumnus.
The main purpose of this event is to raise money to give to students, teachers, and our classrooms. It is mostly funded by corporate sponsors and Dorothy Whiteman. The event was started by a community charity, important people being Pan Mullin and Barb Emmons. Important events related to the MEF silent auction are the M-Factor in February, and the Annual Luncheon in June.
“[This auction] allows people of Mishawaka to come together and celebrate the community,” says Wright. She believes this auction is important not only because of the fundraising, but also because of recognizing influential people in our community each year.
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