Editorial - April 2003

Make a bid at the Rotary Auction

Published April 4, 2003

Lincoln Rotarians will hold their big event of the year next week (April 10-12) at the Citizens Center when more than $125,000 worth of items will be sold at auction. If you haven’t been to one of these affairs, you should check it out. This isn’t your typical charity auction. Over the past nine years it has grown bigger and bigger, as Rotarians have discovered the fine points of beg, borrow and steal. This auction has everything under the sun, from pygmy goats to Jamaican vacations.

The proceeds go to a cause that hundreds of Lincoln County residents have utilized during the past decade — low interest student loans. Ask around your office or neighborhood and you’ll find somebody that has benefited from these no-hassle loans that come close to paying half a year’s tuition at an in-state college. This isn’t a fund reserved for honor students. The loans of $2,000 each are available to any student who is a Lincoln County resident and high school graduate who  maintains a “C” average while in college. They only have to repay the interest while in college, and can wait until their fully employed to pay off the principle.

Since the project begin more than 200 students have benefited and the assets now available for the loans are close to $1 million. This coming year the fund is expected to fund 100 loans.

Those close to the Rotary Club are extremely proud of how this project has expanded over the years for such a worthwhile cause. They should be. The auction is manned each year by Rotary volunteers from the Lincolnton Club, the Sunrise Club and the Denver Lake Norman Club and it is recognized regionally as a highly successful project.

It’s the kind of event that should appeal to our sense of community. It’s also an opportunity to do a good deed for our young people and have some fun at an auction. Who knows? You might find a bargain on a pygmy goat.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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