Bapst auction to benefit school’s annual fund

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More than 15 years have passed since John Bapst Memorial High School in Bangor hosted an auction.

And although the effort “is very labor-intensive,” reports Bapst director of development Martha Nordstrom, such events are “surprisingly gratifying.”

She is pleased with the more than 100 items up for bid, including one of her favorites: a spring cleanup day by members of the Bapst Key Club.

And while students cannot attend the adults-only event, which includes hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar, Nordstrom said they “pitched in to help.”

National Honor Society members, for example, made the bidding paddles and bidding forms.

Teachers and staff contributed food and auction items, and many parents volunteered to help out the night of the event.

The JBMHS spring auction begins with a silent auction at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 10, at the school, 100 Broadway in Bangor.

The live auction begins at 8:30 p.m.

Auction items include a trip to Nova Scotia on The Cat, a granite garden bench and a weekend ski package at Sugarloaf-USA as well as autographed collectibles, handcrafted items and a wide assortment of gift certificates ranging in value from $15 to $500. The event benefits the school’s annual fund.

“Although Bapst is an independent school,” Nordstrom explained, “85 percent of our students come from towns that pay their tuition. The bulk of annual fund money goes to provide tuition assistance for the 15 percent of students who have to pay tuition.”

Tickets are $12.50 per person and can be reserved by calling the school at 947-0313.

Mount Desert Island High School freshman Katie Leighton, who has cystic fibrosis, and “Katie’s Krusaders” are again raising funds for CF research and hope you will participate in the CF Foundation’s annual 10K walk, “Making Great Strides to Cure Cystic Fibrosis.”

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and the walk at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 10, at Conners Emerson School in Bar Harbor, and takes you through Acadia National Park.

A brunch follows the walk, and a 50-50 raffle and prize drawings are part of this outstanding day, which raises funds to help find a cure for what is described as the No. 1 fatal genetic disease of children and young adults in the United States.

If you cannot participate, you can make a donation payable to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and mail it to The Leightons, 35 Greely Ave., Bar Harbor 04609.

For more information, call Phyllis Leighton at 288-5430.

Yolanda Castiglia coaches one of the two Destination ImagiNation teams from Holbrook School in East Holden that will compete in the DI Global Finals May 21-25 at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

To help fund the trip, the teams are hosting a spaghetti supper at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, May 10, at the school.

Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for children under the age of 10, or $10 for a family of four or more.

At the supper, the teams will present their winning DI solutions, and you can purchase baked goods and raffle tickets.

“I think it is also important to mention that all 11 of the kids involved in this program have agreed to commit to at least two community service projects apiece over the summer to give back to the communities that are helping them so generously with the fund raising,” Castiglia wrote.

If you cannot attend, but want to help these youngsters travel to Tennessee, call Don Spencer at the school at 843-7769.

In a later column, I’ll have more details about the building project of the Houlton Humane Society, but for now, plan to participate in its second annual Dog Walk-A-Thon, beginning with registration at 9 a.m. and the walk at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 10, at Houlton Community Park.

The walk of four or two miles is open to anyone, writes HHS president Cathy Davis, and it is not necessary to bring a dog to participate.

The walk is one of many activities geared to “to help raise funds for our new building project,” she added.

Volunteers are needed to help plant more than 200 trees along the Sheepscot River, clean up the riverbanks, and help with setup and take-down for the Sheepscot Valley Conservation Association second annual Belated Earth Day Extravaganza, to be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 10, at The Happy Farm on Route 126 in Whitefield.

To volunteer or receive more information, call Stacy Cibula at 586-5616 or e-mail acsvca@midcoast.com.

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.