Mennonite Country Auction nets over $100,000

With more donations and contributions still being tallied, the 37th annual Mennonite Country Auction and Relief Sale has already raised over $100,000 during the event on Saturday, Oct. 4. The annual event is held at the Mennonite Church grounds outside of Ritzville and the excellent fall weather helped draw a large crowd of an estimated 2,500.

Visitors to the annual event browsed vendor booths and enjoyed a variety of home cooked foods in the morning hours. Throughout the day, food vendors continued to cook up authentic meals and snacks, while demonstrations of making apple cider and apple butter were held at the grounds.

The live auction began at noon, and after the auction items had been sold, the live auction amount totaled $44,545.

The live auction began with the selling of loaves of bread, a traditional item in the auction. The 12 loaves of bread sold for a combined $5,000. Throughout the auction, the ever-popular poppy seed rolls were auctioned off and the three rolls raised $1,700, with the highest selling roll going for $600.

The tradition of auctioning “absolutely nothing” also raised $1,200.

The live auction is known for the high quality and elaborate quilts donated by local community members, organizations and Mennonite Church members from across the United States. The headquarters for the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) are located in Akron, Penn., and with a quilting room at the facility, many quilts are donated from Pennsylvania.

The top selling quilt of the afternoon was the hand quilted Bargello Variation, donated by MCC Quilt Room in Ephrata, which sold for $2,000. The second highest item was three pocket organizers, which sold for $1,575. The third highest quilt sold was a Log Cabin Star quilt for $1,550.

Two of the highest, more unique items sold at the event included two Seahawks tickets for $900, followed by four University of Washington game tickets for $525.

All of the money raised at the event goes to the (MCC) for worldwide relief services. None of the funds raised remains at the local level and goes to help support others by supplying material aide or support services for struggling individuals.

The MCC organization helps provide individuals with food, water, clothing and shelter. Aside from providing these basic human needs, the MCC works alongside churches and communities to help establish peace.

The Mennonite Country Auction and Relief Sale is one of about 50 relief sales held throughout the U.S. and over the past 37 years has raised well over $2.5 million for the MCC.

The success of the auction is credited to the support and volunteers from the local community as well as other Mennonite churches and communities throughout the U.S. that have helped with the event, whether it be as volunteers, vendors or buyers.

To learn more about the auction, visit the website http:// mennonitecountryauction.mennonite.net. To see results and photos from the auction, find the Mennonite Country Auction on Facebook.