Fairmount Barbecue Moves To New Covenant
During 2020, Fairmount streamlined its annual Sharing Fund benefit by holding chicken barbecue sales off site and moving the annual auction online. For 2021, many of the activities associated with the event will return, but the fundraiser will not be held at Fairmount.
Instead, New Covenant Mennonite Church, 529 E. Farmersville Road, New Holland, will host the 32nd annual benefit auction and barbecue on Saturday, Sept. 11.
The fun will kick off at 6:30 a.m. with a country breakfast and flea market. Registration for the auction, which will be held live and webcast so that bids may be made in real time, will begin at 8 a.m. Chicken barbecue meals will go on sale at 10 a.m. "We will have all the food and children's activities," said Peter Passage, stewardship director with Fairmount. A helicopter candy drop is planned for 10 a.m. if weather permits.
Carol Swailes, Fairmount public relations coordinator, noted that bidding will start on Saturday, Sept. 4, through a link at http://www.FairmountHomes.org, where auction items may be viewed.
This year's live auction will begin at 9 a.m., with a variety of items, including theme baskets, indoor and outdoor furniture, and plants. Two items of special interest are a Ford 4000 tractor and a miniature patchwork sampler, comprised of 337 pieces, made by Rebecca Gregory-Smith, granddaughter of Fairmount resident Laura Zimmerman. The tiny hand-stitched quilt is the most recent in a line of donations from Gregory-Smith dating back more than 15 years. A Burkholder trailer and four 10-minute helicopter rides will also go up for bids.
A silent auction, which will open at 9 a.m., will feature gift cards and Dining for Dollars meals provided by Fairmount staff members and other donors. Attendees can also help the Sharing Fund with Make a Difference bids of $75 or $150, which will cover a half day or full day of patient care, respectively. Auction organizer Dorothy Witmer noted that Make a Difference bids allow attendees who are outbid or not in need of any auction items to take part.
The Sharing Fund covers about $2.5 million yearly in uncompensated care. The 2020 auction and barbecue raised $85,000, but this year Passage hopes the expanded format will bring in $125,000 for the cause.
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