“Sister Act” Silent Auction

Sister Act raises money for breast cancer
The Londoner
Posted By DON BIGGS
Posted 5 months ago

Everything happens in threes. When three family members were diagnosed with breast cancer, sisters Susan Godin and Linda Longman knew exactly where to channel their fundraising initiatives. In 2004, the London sisters decided to participate in the Weekend to End Breast Cancer, where they had to walk 60 kms and raise at least $2,000. For their part, Mrs. Godin and Mrs. Longman decided to hold a silent auction and dance in order to come up with their $4,000 commitment.

"We raised over the minimum amount the first year and decided to repeat the event the following year," says Mrs. Longman. The sophomore year had the silent auction competing against London Knights who just happened to be vying for the Memorial Cup, so attendance and profits dropped.

However, the third year was the charm as the girls raised more than the previous two-year total, thanks to a change of venue and the assistance of an auctioneer who volunteer his services for the evening.

"In 2007, we decided to participate in the CIBC Run for the Cure instead and keep the money local. Although there was no minimum commitment with the Run, we decided to keep doing the auction because it had been so successful. We raised approximately $10,000 in 2007," says Mrs. Longman.

"Last year, we decided to set a goal to raise a total of $100,000 for breast cancer research. This really motivated us. Our husbands, parents and daughters started to get more involved and joined the 'Sister Act' team and together we raised over $15,000 bringing our total to date to $42,000."

On Thursday, the siblings raised approximately $15,000 in the sixth annual Sister Act Silent Auction, held at the Best Western Lamplighter Inn and Conference Centre, bringing their total to an amazing $57,000 in half a dozen years.

Planning for the yearly event begins in January, when the start canvassing the local businesses for donations. They write letters, and have a website, but most of the canvassing is done door-to-door. The prizes ranged from a hat and T-shirt to round-trip tickets to any scheduled WestJet destination, which has a value of $4,649.

"We have 153 balloons that have numbers inside and the prize value of each balloon is worth at least $10," says Mrs. Longman.

Mrs. Godin and Mrs. Longman are hoping to reach their lofty $100,000 fundraising goal in three years. And once their reach that benchmark, "I can't see us stopping, but we haven't planned that far in advance," says Mrs. Longman.

But the downturn in the economy did have an impact on their silent auction. A number of their longtime supporters are no longer in business. Yet, despite economic hardships, the sisters saw a 25 per cent increase in the number of donations, which Mrs. Longman says speaks volumes about the generosity of the local business community.

As for the three family members who were diagnosed with breast cancer, all have survived their ordeal and are healthy today.