During these unprecedented times, we became inspired by an amazing idea to create some excitement and get our supporters engaged while raising funds for our cause by auctioning items online! With so many people bidding on items, we were thrilled to see this idea taking off, and thus, we have been able to do regular auctions to benefit our children. Here are some highlights:
Knafeh Queen – Our friend and the owner of Knafeh Queens in Southern California, Fatmah Williams figured that she may get $250 for her award-winning dessert. Within hours of starting the bid on social media platforms, we received multiple offers. After an intense bidding war, two lucky winners sealed the deal with bids of $800 and $890 (total $1690), making it the most expensive knafeh in the world, as far as we know! Via @KnafehQueens.
Creative Paintings – Our talented friends and long-time supporters, Huma Abidi, Tarannum Shabab and Shaheen Naqvi each auctioned their beautiful paintings which garnered a total of $450!
Grazing Board Platter – Honey & Hive Boards in Southern California donated a scrumptious halal charcuterie/grazing board with a $75 start bid which ended at the winning bid of $500! The owner and our new friend, Nancy Serag said, “I’m honored that GiveLight chose Honey & Hive Boards to participate in an auction benefiting its children. I feel inspired knowing that one of my boards was successful in bringing in $500 towards their fundraising efforts and helped raise awareness in our community regarding their mission and ongoing projects. I found the auction was most successful over an Instagram story and the engagement from the community and followers was greater than I had anticipated. Thank you once again for this opportunity.”
Mouthwatering Cake- Natasha’s Healthy Treats, located in the Bay Area, reached out to us to offer her delicious cakes, made from scratch using all-natural ingredients, for a monthly auction. Since July, we have conducted two auctions which each raising over $100 in funds. Natasha shared what motivated her, “I have been a GiveLight supporter for a very long time. I came up with the cake auction idea after my daughter did an auction of her drawings for Black Lives Matter (BLM). I did the BLM auction via my Instagram page and got multiple biddings. Being that it was successful, I offered to do the auction on a regular basis for GiveLight. I think it’s a win-win situation for the bidder; you get a treat and contribute to a great cause at the same time. “
We were able to generate more than $3000 which will fully support six of our children for the entire year! We are immensely grateful to our generous friends for contributing their talents to advance our cause. We are equally grateful to all our wonderful friends and supporters who bid and made the online auction a success! May your generosity be rewarded manifold!