{"id":19809,"date":"2014-04-10T10:57:37","date_gmt":"2014-04-10T14:57:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=19809"},"modified":"2025-07-11T13:50:49","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T17:50:49","slug":"student-led-auction-raises-21000-for-science-center-renovations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/student-led-auction-raises-21000-for-science-center-renovations\/","title":{"rendered":"Student-led auction raises $21,000 for science center renovations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Enjoying one of the spring\u2019s first balmy Saturday afternoons, an enthusiastic crowd gathered April 5 on Eastern Mennonite University\u2019s Thomas Plaza for a student-led auction to benefit the Suter Science Center renovations<\/a>. The event raised more than $21,000.<\/p>\n

SGA co-presidents and main auction organizers Christine Baer and Carissa Harnish say they didn\u2019t know what to expect before the auction started. \u201cWhen the first big item, a ceramic bowl by Jerry Lapp, went for $325, we were amazed,\u201d says Harnish.<\/p>\n

Baer adds that local auctioneers John and Jack Bowman, who donated their time, \u201creally knew how to keep the crowd engaged and laughing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The auction raised $14,075.67 (including a pre-auction donation) with an additional $7,037.84 coming from a matching grant by the Marietta McNeill Morgan and Samuel Tate Morgan Foundation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI was very pleased with the kind of response and donations we got from students, the science department, alumni, parents, faculty and staff,\u201d says Phil Helmuth<\/a>, executive director of development. \u201cThe auction crowd wasn\u2019t huge, but those who came were prepared to spend money.\u201d<\/p>\n

The infamous shotglass (originally purchased as a \u201crosebud vase\u201d for a donor appreciation banquet) brought $300. Howard Zehr<\/a>‘s recent book, “Pickups, A Love Story<\/a>,” went for $300. A star guide from M.T. Brackbill\u2019s 1930s astronomy classes sold for $600. A large chest of drawers (possibly from the Ad Building) went for $750, and Esther Augsberger\u2019s sculpture, \u201cRobe of God,\u201d sold for $3200.<\/p>\n

Students also bought bricks from previous buildings on campus, plants from the greenhouse and discarded glassware from science labs. Food tables of chili, cornbread and baked goods added $700 to the total.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt inspires everyone when students engage in a project like this with their own creativity, commitment, and passion for a good cause,\u201d says Kirk Shisler, vice president for advancement.<\/p>\n

A matching grant magnified the auction\u2019s yield; for every $2 raised, an additional $1 was added by the Marietta McNeill Morgan and Samuel Tate Morgan Foundation, bringing the total to more than $21,000. Further donations made to the SGA campaign using this secure online form<\/a> will be matched as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we started planning for this campaign last semester, we drew inspiration from the famous Library drive of 1969, when students lead the campus community to raise more than $100,000 [in 1969 dollars] in four days,\u201d says Baer. \u201cWe heard so many library drive stories from alumni and community folks as they dropped off donated items for the auction. That made it come alive for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The co-presidents admit their fundraising goals for the auction event were considerably more modest, between $5,000 and $10,000.<\/p>\n

One lesson Harnish and Baer want to pass to future student leaders: \u201cWith all the institutional support here, from development to physical plant to faculty and staff, it is completely possible for students to organize successful fundraising campaigns for things they care about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Young alum Braydon Hoover<\/a>, who as a pre-med<\/a> and biology<\/a> major spent many hours in Suter Science Center, agrees. \u201cI thought the auction was fantastic: the type of event we should try to do every year, frankly. Not only did we raise money for a good cause, connections were made between students and alumni, and that’s what it’s all about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Enjoying one of the spring\u2019s first balmy Saturday afternoons, an enthusiastic crowd gathered April 5 on Eastern Mennonite University\u2019s Thomas Plaza for a student-led auction to benefit the Suter Science ... read more about Student-led auction raises $21,000 for science center renovations<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":187,"featured_media":19819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4515,5583,14715,5642,5623,4513,5640],"tags":[7962,13574,14913,14915,15381,7159,12006,10207],"feature":[],"class_list":["post-19809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-campus-community","category-campus-life","category-faculty-and-staff","category-special-programs","category-student-life","category-suter-science-center","tag-biology","tag-braydon-hoover","tag-carissa-harnish","tag-christine-baer","tag-jerry-lapp","tag-kirk-shisler","tag-m-t-brackbill","tag-pre-med"],"yoast_head":"\nStudent-led auction raises $21,000 for science center renovations - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/student-led-auction-raises-21000-for-science-center-renovations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Student-led auction raises $21,000 for science center renovations - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Enjoying one of the spring\u2019s first balmy Saturday afternoons, an enthusiastic crowd gathered April 5 on Eastern Mennonite University\u2019s Thomas Plaza for a student-led auction to benefit the Suter Science\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/student-led-auction-raises-21000-for-science-center-renovations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EasternMennonite\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-04-10T14:57:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-11T17:50:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2014\/04\/1538843_619356944818378_1171920062_n.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"610\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"370\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@EMU_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@EMU_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/student-led-auction-raises-21000-for-science-center-renovations\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/student-led-auction-raises-21000-for-science-center-renovations\/\",\"name\":\"Student-led auction raises $21,000 for science center renovations - EMU News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/student-led-auction-raises-21000-for-science-center-renovations\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/student-led-auction-raises-21000-for-science-center-renovations\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2014\/04\/1538843_619356944818378_1171920062_n.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-04-10T14:57:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-11T17:50:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/student-led-auction-raises-21000-for-science-center-renovations\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/student-led-auction-raises-21000-for-science-center-renovations\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/student-led-auction-raises-21000-for-science-center-renovations\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2014\/04\/1538843_619356944818378_1171920062_n.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2014\/04\/1538843_619356944818378_1171920062_n.jpg\",\"width\":610,\"height\":370},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/student-led-auction-raises-21000-for-science-center-renovations\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Student-led auction raises $21,000 for science center renovations\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/\",\"name\":\"EMU News\",\"description\":\"News from the Eastern Mennonite University community.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Student-led auction raises $21,000 for science center renovations - EMU News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/student-led-auction-raises-21000-for-science-center-renovations\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Student-led auction raises $21,000 for science center renovations - EMU News","og_description":"Enjoying one of the spring\u2019s first balmy Saturday afternoons, an enthusiastic crowd gathered April 5 on Eastern Mennonite University\u2019s Thomas Plaza for a student-led auction to benefit the Suter Science","og_url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/student-led-auction-raises-21000-for-science-center-renovations\/","og_site_name":"EMU News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EasternMennonite","article_published_time":"2014-04-10T14:57:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-07-11T17:50:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":610,"height":370,"url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2014\/04\/1538843_619356944818378_1171920062_n.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@EMU_News","twitter_site":"@EMU_News","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/student-led-auction-raises-21000-for-science-center-renovations\/","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/student-led-auction-raises-21000-for-science-center-renovations\/","name":"Student-led auction raises $21,000 for science center renovations - EMU News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/student-led-auction-raises-21000-for-science-center-renovations\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/student-led-auction-raises-21000-for-science-center-renovations\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2014\/04\/1538843_619356944818378_1171920062_n.jpg","datePublished":"2014-04-10T14:57:37+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-11T17:50:49+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/student-led-auction-raises-21000-for-science-center-renovations\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/student-led-auction-raises-21000-for-science-center-renovations\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/student-led-auction-raises-21000-for-science-center-renovations\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2014\/04\/1538843_619356944818378_1171920062_n.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2014\/04\/1538843_619356944818378_1171920062_n.jpg","width":610,"height":370},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/student-led-auction-raises-21000-for-science-center-renovations\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Student-led auction raises $21,000 for science center renovations"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/","name":"EMU News","description":"News from the Eastern Mennonite University community.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":""}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/187"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19809"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59264,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19809\/revisions\/59264"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19809"},{"taxonomy":"feature","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/feature?post=19809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}