St. Mary’s Academy auction exceeds $1 million; Breaks auction fundraising record

Portland, April 11th, 2015. More than 700 guests joined St. Mary’s Academy for A Moment to Sparkle, the school’s 27^th Annual Auction held at the Oregon Convention Center’s Portland Ballroom. Cathy Marshall of KGW served as the mistress of ceremonies for the evening, keeping the crowd excited and engaged. The event was a sparkling success as St. Mary’s Academy raised $1,070,000 thanks to the generosity and support of the school’s dedicated community. This extraordinary amount is the largest in the history of the event and $170,000 over last year.

“We are so grateful to our generous community members who attended and participated in our annual auction. The magnitude of the auction’s success is a testament to the strong belief our parents, alumnae and benefactors have in the value of a St. Mary’s Academy education. The funds raised at the auction will allow St. Mary’s to continue to provide a premier college-preparatory Catholic education to young women,” said St. Mary’s Academy President Christina Friedhoff.

Highlights from the event included exciting raffles for the chance to win a $5,000 trip voucher or a 2015 MINI Cooper S Countryman, packages for trips to Italy, Paris and Belize, and the school’s highly anticipated Bids for Kids paddle raise. Bids for Kids is an opportunity for auction guests to contribute to the school’s tuition assistance program. Auction guests showed their support of and belief in St. Mary’s by raising a record-breaking total of more than $300,000.

The success of the auction is attributed, in part, to auction co-chairs, Molly Mathews Bjorklund ’85 and Marilyn Whitaker, both parents of current St. Mary’s students. Sparkling examples of volunteer leadership, these women inspired participation and altruism leading up to and on the night of the event.

The auction is St. Mary’s largest annual fundraising event. Proceeds from the auction benefit the 700 students who attend St. Mary’s Academy.