By Sarah Mieras
GRAND RAPIDS – The annual Auction Against AIDS at the Apartment Lounge in Grand Rapids played host to hundreds Sunday, as the community bid on everything from furniture to laser hair removal systems. At the closing of the auction over $16,000 had been raised for HIV/AIDS Services, which focuses on prevention and education throughout Kent County.
"It went very smooth this year. It is one of the best turnouts I have seen," said volunteer and event organizer Bob Weemhof.
The 15th annual event received a high-tech face-lift with closed circuit video linking an outdoor auction area to the bar. Some things never change though, following tradition the number 69 auction paddle was the first item on the block, bringing in a price tag of $669.69.
The event, which has become the largest source of private funding for HAS, was made possible with the support of the Apartment Lounge owners, staff and more than 50 volunteers.
"I just feel good," said bidder Richard Anthony Leyba as he counted the number of items he would be carrying home. "I don't have as much money as some people do, but I bid because it is a great cause. I bought four things I didn't even want because no one else was bidding. The whole thing just makes you feel good."
Since the auction's first year Apartment Lounge owners Ed Ladner and Milt Lennox have covered all of the event's costs, donating all of the proceeds to the area's three HIV/AIDS organizations. To date the event has generated close to $320,000.
HAS Agency Administrator, William Allen said funds raised at the auction will be used t print promotional and educational brochures and to launch new outreach programs. Some of the funds will also be used for the Clean Works program, which focuses on harm reduction.
For the first time, the auction took place in conjunction with the International AIDS Candelight Memorial. Following the Auction hundreds of luminaries were lit in adjacent Veteran's Memorial Park. The event said organizer Brenda DenHouten, allowed the LGBT community and other groups concerned about HIV to mingle and join forces.
"A lot of people disassociate AIDS as something far away from us, something in another country or another city. Kent County has the third highest HIV incidence in the state. HIV is here and it affects everyone," explained DenHouten.
A simultaneous event in 4,500 communities and 93 countries, DenHouten hoped that the mix of straight families, college students and LGBT folks at the event would create a dialogue in the community about the far reaching affects of HIV.
"One of our goals is to really bridge the gap here tonight, to help the community come together."
