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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Two major community fundraising events were held on the same night Saturday, but organizers of both events say they were satisfied with the amount of support they received.

Darian Bohnet, 11, shows off a go-cart made from a kit while holding a bid-number sign at the NWT Disabilities auction at the Elks Hall Saturday night. - Glenn Werkman/NNSL photo

The Stanton Territorial Hospital Foundation held its second annual Festival of Giving (formerly known as the Festival of Trees) at the Explorer Hotel and obliterated the amount raised last year with $75,000. In 2011, the event raised $48,000.

Foundation executive director Rebecca Alty said 288 people attended the event, which was up from 250 last year.

"We were able to purchase everything in our Giving Catalogue plus an UltraClave automatic sterilizer, which is used for decontaminating products and cultures in the tuberculosis lab," said Alty. "The lab staff was really excited that they will be getting a new piece of equipment that they were looking forward to."

In past years money was raised from the auctioning of artificial trees, but the Festival of Giving format allows donors to actually see the items they are paying for in the Giving Catalogue.

Alty said an additional $50,000 was raised through a diamond raffle, which was just short of the $60,000 raised last year.

Meanwhile, the NWT Disabilities Council held its second annual benefit live and silent auction Saturday night at the Elks Lodge and raised just over $36,000, according to executive director Denise McKee.

"We had a bigger crowd and an overall excellent event and people seemed to have a really good time," said McKee, adding the Elks Lodge offered a spacious, central location for people to attend, unlike last year's venue at the Greenstone Building. "We look to next year to see what we could do better."

The evening included a celebrity auction, including ice road trucker Alex Debogorski and Mikey McBryan of Buffalo Airways. A live auction featured 14 donated items, compared to 25 last year, but this was because the auction was broadcast on television this year for the first time, said McKee. The silent auction exceeded the 330 items donated last year, with a mattress and box spring from The Brick being among the larger items.

Last year, the disabilities council held its first benefit auction after cancelling its 31st annual celebrity auction in 2011 when fundraising revenue was found to be declining. This had been largely due to competition with other organizations raising money during the holidays.

The organizers of the two events aren't saying that being scheduled on the same night affected money raised this year. "We have no control over what other organizations do," said disability council board chair Don Gillis. "We attempt to advise other organizations that are planning on having (an event) on a particular night, but whatever happens, happens. It was a bit disappointing, but we were very, very happy with the turnout that we had."

Alty said it is difficult to pick a weekend where something isn't going on in the city that might conflict with the foundation's event, adding she had the weekend planned months in advance.

"It is tough because there is always something going on in the city," she said. "There was also a play going on at NACC and next weekend is Yuk Yuk's, so there is no dead weekend in Yellowknife. I think there is a big enough crowd to go to both."

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