Students, faculty and community members gathered in the Lory Student Center Theater on February 17 for the Student Occupational Therapy Association Fifth Annual Silent Auction. The auction is SOTA’s largest fundraising event of the year. This year the silent auction raised over $3000 to support student professional development including sending students to the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Annual Conference in Philadelphia.
Donations were gathered from all over the front range with businesses donating products and gift cards, while students and faculty tapped into their creative sides. A fairy garden, as well as handmade scarves, an afghan, greeting cards and artwork adorned the tables. Kendall Tadych, a second-year occupational therapy student and co-chair of the event said, “I am entirely grateful for our donors; without them, the event would not have existed nor been a success.” Several items incited bidding wars sparking friendly competition among guests.
Tadych, along with second-year student and co-chair Dawn Deuter, began planning the event last spring. Preparation tasks included canvassing local businesses for donations, booking a venue, recruiting entertainment and creating an itinerary for the night. This year Deuter and Tadych added to the vision of the event by incorporating new elements. Information regarding SOTA was displayed at the main entry to educate community members about the organization. The Occupational Therapy Association of Colorado was invited to speak developing a collaborative relationship between the two organizations.
Entertainment included the musical talents from occupational therapy students Emily Bohall-Bord and Chris Wrzesien, Andrew Flint, Talia Flint, and recent graduate Dave Colangelo. Also featured was Dave Meservy, a multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. Master of ceremonies Melanie Carle, delivered lively descriptions of the auction items. Door prizes were announced to the excitement of guests, including gift cards and coupons from community businesses.
The event took a lot of planning, work and commitment from SOTA members. Also, the event could not have been such a success without involvement of the faculty and staff from the department, as well as, people from the community. Deuter commented, “I am excited to pass the torch along to the current first-year students, knowing that they will take what we have learned and make next year’s silent auction even more successful!”
Pictured above: Kendra Johnson, second-year occupational therapy student
By Katie Townsend
