Angel Wings to hold online auction in October

Angel Wings Network is holding an online auction from Oct. 3 through Oct. 8 in conjunction with its 11th annual Walk/Run event scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 8.

 Auction items are needed and those wishing to donate are asked to get their items to Angel Wings by Sept. 9. 

 “We are only going to do 50 or 60 items this fall,” said Angel Wings Executive Director Mabel Dobbs. “It’s not going to be as big as the spring, but we are hoping that the auction items we put together are bigger. We’re hoping that our auction items will be worth between $200 and $500, so that we have exciting things for people to bid on.”

 Donations can be made by contacting Carie Lawrence via Angel Wings’ Facebook page, by calling the office at (208) 414-9464 or by emailing weiseroffice.angelwings@gmail.com.

 “They can call the office, drop it off at our office, or they can call and make arrangements and we will come pick it up,” Dobbs said. All auction items will be available for view online beginning Sept. 26. Normally, the nonprofit cancer support group holds its auction in the spring, but difficulties with the platform used last April ultimately resulted in less than expected funds raised for the organization, which counts solely on donations for its operations. According to Dobbs, the organization came in about $4,000 under expectations.

 “We want to try to make up what we lost by not having a successful auction platform last spring,” she said. “We want to generate enthusiasm and let people know that we have gone back to the platform that we used in 2021, which is called Greater Giving.”

 Based in Hillsboro, Ore., Greater Giving serves schools and nonprofits across the nation, helping them simplify fundraising events using integrated technologies that are user friendly, which is what Angel Wings is getting back to.

 “Once you get your information in, you don’t have to worry about anything; and every time there is a bid over yours, you are notified immediately,” Dobbs said. “The one we used in spring, every time you wanted to make another bid, you had to re-enter all of your information and people don’t want to do that. This platform, we know how smoothly it works and that is what we have gone back to.”

 An online web address will be provided as the date gets closer so that the public can view items beginning Sept. 26, well before the auction starts on Oct. 3.

 “It is very easy to bid using your phone, but we will have two computers out there during the Walk/Run so people can take a look and see what is happening, in case they don’t have their phones with them,” Dobbs said. “There will be many wonderful packages available.”

 This year marks the 11th annual Walk/Run event, which benefits programs offered by Angel Wings Network, Inc. that aim to assist people battling cancer.

 Angel Wings’ mission is to provide support to cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, family, and loved ones who have been touched with cancer in rural communities.

The 5k, one-mile Walk/Run is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Weiser City Park. Registration, food and vendor tents open at 9:30 a.m. is $25 per person. Kids 5 and under participate for free. The event is pet friendly, with lots of prizes. Healthy snacks will be available for everyone.

 Last year, Angel Wings distributed about $14,000 in gas cards to help defray the cost of fuel for patients to get to treatments and other appointments in Boise and the surrounding area. So far, in 2022, the organization has already given out $15,475 in gas cards as of last week, along with $6,000 in grocery cards, $2,000 in Subway cards, $2,000 in dinner cards for the Golden Corral in Nampa, and hundreds of dollars for the McDonalds in Weiser.