2 minute read
Celebrations
VIRTUAL SUCCESS
For the second year running, our annual STARS auction was held virtually with the continued physical gathering restrictions of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
This year’s theme of “Rise Up” was inspired by Hebrews 10:24: “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” The theme was chosen as encouragement for our community to ascend to a greater level of involvement; to take part in our steadfast commitment to provide our students, faculty, staff and community an exceptional academic experience in a safe and nurturing home.
We had nearly 300 registered bidders joining in for the week-long online auction and 200 delicious meals catered by The Perfect Pair, by all measures, the call to action was answered and the auction was a fantastic success. Friends and families gathered on a beautiful Saturday evening, staged their personal version of “Auction Gala” at home and showed some spirited bidding resulting in gross revenue of over $310,000!
Ivan and Alissa Tsang, parents to Kate ’26 shared their experience. “Kudos to Mayten Gross and everyone involved in the 2021 STARS Online Auction for putting on a successful event raising the critical funds that will be turned around and invested back into the EC community. Bidding in the online auction was easy and fun, although not so much fun when we received the ‘you’ve been outbid’ notifi cations! Once the auction closed, we were thrilled that we won
a few of the items that we were bidding on! It was an exciting weeklong event that brought the EC community together.” As EC’s largest annual fundraising event, the auction generates necessary funds to support the operations of the school, including the retention of our extraordinary and dedicated EC faculty and staff. Bidders included past parents, alumni, current and past grandparents, trustees, sponsors and donors. This year’s Making a Difference campaign focused on addressing the budget shortfall caused by the unexpected yet essential safety and educational necessities brought on by the pandemic. These technological and safety enhancements enabled us to offer a more robust remote learning experience and return to the physical classroom sooner. Making their inaugural debut this year were custom-etched glassybabys with the EC logo and EC shield that proved to be one of the hottest offerings in the online auction. All 23 glassybabys, grouped in different combinations sold for well over their market value inciting multiple bidding wars—all in good competition of course! We owe a debt We look forward to of gratitude to our generous sponsors, celebrating in-person donors, families and friends for making next year at the this year’s auction another memorable, virtual event. 37th ANNUAL Thank you to our sponsors!
