Saint John’s Prep Middle School Students Raise $1,882 for Families in Need Posted on December 15, 2023 in Activities, Press Releases, Student NewsTagged auction, Christmas, citizenship, collaboration, leadership, Middle School Saint John’s Prep middle school students are supporting families in need this Christmas by raising over $1,800 for Anna Marie’s Alliance. With the help of Col. Frank Imholte of Black Diamond Auctions, the students took part in a “white elephant” auction to raise the funds. This fun tradition has been a part of the Prep School middle school holiday experience for over 20 years! Col. Frank Imholte donated his time to teach 7th and 8th grade students about auctions and the bidding process. Each student donated a festive, wrapped gift that was used for bidding. After a quick lesson on auction bidding, Col. Imholte lead them a very competitive auction! The auction items were all mystery items. Each gift was labelled with a clue, but all students could see was a wrapped gift or gift bag! Students opened the gifts to find everything from Christmas candy and holiday décor to silly items like scented soap, plastic bugs, and flip flops. Middle school teacher Cameron Swanson assisted the auctioneer while middle school teachers Jeff Kirchoff, Ashleigh Severson, and Robert Ellenbecker served as cashiers. The proceeds are being used to fill the wish lists of a family at Anna Marie’s Alliance. Mr. Swanson took a crew of students shopping with the family members’ wish lists. Gifts on the Anna Marie’s wish list range from practical clothing and toiletries to fun toys, gift cards and electronics. Anna Marie’s Alliance provides safety for women and children in abusive situations in the nine-county region of Stearns, Benton, Sherburne, Wright, Mille Lacs, Isanti, Kanabec, Chisago and Pine Counties. For more information about Anna Marie’s Alliance go to www.annamaries.org.
