Children’s Auction: Why you should bid high, bid often

There’s a phenomenon you’re sure to see during this year’s Children’s Auction: The Overbid. That’s the term for a bid on an item donated to the auction that exceeds what the bidder would pay at a regular retail store. Is stupidity to blame? Just the opposite, actually. Overbidders push the bidding into orbit because they understand the value of the auction itself.

The 40th Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction will take place Dec. 7-10, with lots of lights, cameras and action, as it is live streamed and broadcast on LRPA and 101.5FM. But perhaps the most important part of the auction will come several weeks later, usually in February, when the proceeds are distributed and put to work through the many local organizations that lift up the lives of children.

Last year, nearly $500,000 in grants was handed out, and more than 60 local organizations had their wishes funded through the auction. The money was used in myriad ways, all to help the youngest of the region’s residents.

Of those funds, $10,000 went to the Circle Program, which helps girls and young women to build confidence and make healthy decisions, through a summer camp and long-term mentoring. Beth Dever, executive director, said the support from the Children’s Auction helped send five new program participants to the three-week residential camp.

“Our Circle Camp is the first experience our girls have with the program. This allows our girls the opportunity to meet their peers, become familiar with the program and participate in new activities.”

The camp is an important way to initiate a new participant, she said, because that time is also used by the adults to get to know the girls so they can make a successful mentor match.

“Creating lasting mentor/mentee pairs is so important, many of our participants have the same mentor from the time they enter our program, around the age of 10, all the way until they graduate from our program which is usually after they graduate high school,” Dever said.

The Pass Along Project received a $5,000 grant last year, which it used to purchase 200 complete wardrobe kits, including outfits, accessories and pajamas, to have ready to give to children entering foster care.

The transition to foster care typically happens with little to no warning for the foster parent, and the children usually arrive with nothing but the clothes on their back. It’s a potentially traumatic moment, and The Pass Along Project’s clothing kits ensure that the lack of age-appropriate clothing doesn’t add to the difficulty.

Lynette Kaichen, founder of The Pass Along Project, said support from the Children’s Auction has allowed them to provide better, more thorough kits. “At a time when they've lost everything, we were able to restore dignity by providing them with clothing in just the right size. In addition, this effort has saved Lakes Region foster families an estimated $60,000 in clothing expense, allowing them to say ‘yes’ to welcoming another child into their home without the concern of financial expense. With the current shortage of foster parents and rising number of children entering foster care, our program has become a valued resource for supporting foster families.”

Paula Ferenc, executive director of the Belknap House, said the Children’s Auction has supported the family shelter’s mission of providing housing while helping its residents build skills necessary to stabilize their lives.

“Belknap House is more than grateful for the funding received from the (Children’s Auction) over the years,” Ferenc said. Auction grants have allowed the Belknap House to replace windows and improve insulation, expand capacity and provide for the essential needs of homeless children. “With the support provided by (the Children’s Auction), we are able to address the immediate goal of keeping families together, and maintaining family stability.”

One of the services provided by Belknap House is connecting its parents with other resources, such as the Family Resource Center, part of Lakes Region Community Services. Erin Pettengill, vice president of FRC, said her organization received $20,000 from the Children’s Auction last year.

“This funding allows us to provide services that are designed to strengthen families and communities by enhancing social connections utilizing family support principles and protective factors,” Pettengill said. FRC’s programs — which include autism support, parent education and socialization opportunities, among others — reached more than 1,100 local children and their families last year. Some of the auction’s grant was leveraged to support families who were particularly challenged by the COVID pandemic, she said.

“This funding allows us to pivot to the needs of families and has been critical to the ability for our FRC to meet the needs of families on a big picture scale, down to concrete supports on a daily basis,” Pettengill said.

The added stress that COVID put on families highlighted the need for more attention on children’s mental health, said Ann Nichols, of Lakes Region Mental Health Center. She said that, prior to the pandemic, less than half of the estimated 12.6% of children with emotional, developmental or behavioral conditions received treatment or counseling. It is expected that the pandemic increased the number of children who need treatment, yet it also reduced encounters with professionals that would typically recognize their needs.

“Children are more vulnerable to harm right now and the demand for children’s services is increasing rapidly,” Nichols said. A Children’s Auction grant received last year allowed the mental health center to realign its evaluation processes so it could meet the increased demand.

“Due to the ongoing workforce shortages, Lakes Region Mental Health Center is significantly challenged to find needed staff that can support the increased demand for services. Consequently, being able to increase the efficiency of our internal processes as well as enhance the effectiveness in how services are delivered is paramount to our success,” Nichols said.

If circumstances in a home are increasingly chaotic, children might find themselves subject to a court’s action. In such a case, Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, step in to speak up for the child’s interests.

Those advocates are volunteers, said Katie Pelczar, community outreach coordinator for CASA, but it costs $2,000 to recruit, train and support each one. “They meet with their child or children at least once a month, make recommendations to the court on what they determine to be in the child’s best interest, and are often the one consistent adult in the child’s life during what can be a scary and traumatic time,” Pelczar said.

The Children’s Auction gave $10,000 to CASA last year, and has directed $62,000 to the organization over the past six years. As with Lakes Region Mental Health Center, CASA anticipates that COVID-related pressures will result in a greater need for advocates, and the organization’s goal is to provide one for every child who needs one. “We couldn’t do this without support from the Children’s Auction and similar efforts,” Pelczar said.

Got Lunch! Laconia provides daily meals for about 500 children each summer, when access to free and reduced school lunches goes on vacation. David Abarth said the Children’s Auction provided critical support for the organization when it was getting off the ground 11 years ago.

“The first year, we had no idea how many children would be needing food and how much money we’d need. They gave us $5,000 that first year,” Barth said. In recent years, the Children’s Auction has given $30,000 to Got Lunch! Laconia. That level of support gives the organization stability and the confidence to expand.

Barth said he has been in the Lakes Region for 14 years, and said the Children’s Auction is emblematic of the region’s character.

“I find this community so supportive, no matter where you come from or what you think, everyone’s ready to help children,” Barth said.