Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (Oct 12/05) - Hockey memorabilia and airline tickets took centre stage at the annual Kataujaq Society charity auction in Rankin Inlet earlier this month.

The auction is the Kataujaq Society's main fundraiser of the year.

Boyd White and Craig Collier, right, share a laugh while admiring the pair of Jordin Tootoo autographed skates White won at the annual Kataujaq Society charity auction in Rankin Inlet earlier this month. - Darrell Greer/NNSL photo

The non-profit organization operates a day care and safe shelter in Rankin.

The society's executive director, Evelyn Thordarson, said the number of people to attend the event was down from 2004, but the auction still went well.

She said she was surprised at the relatively low turnout, considering how early the society began advertising the event this year.

"We would have liked to have seen more faces at the auction, but the same people who come out every year to support us were there and that's very important to us," said Thordarson.

"I guess you could say we had our regulars."

Thordarson said the number of contributors to this year's auction was also down.

She said some people have moved away during the past year and others, especially in small business, are finding it hard to meet the ongoing requests for donations.

"There's a number of small-business operators who have been giving and giving and they've reached the point they just can't give any more.

"There's more people looking for a slice of the same pie every year and it's tough for the people, organizations and companies constantly donating items.

"When we looked at the final tally and saw we were only down $700 from last year, we felt very good about that.

"Our total for this year was $10,700."

Thordarson said while lower numbers are always a worry, the society has a number of people who have helped keep it going for years.

She said as long as that support continues, there's no cause for alarm.

"The Siniktarvik Hotel, M&T, and our larger stores and companies have always been there for us.

"The airlines are our saviours with their ticket donations.

"The Jordin Tootoo items are always popular and we've had other people donate some great hockey stuff the past few years.

"Whether contributing items or bidding at the auction, we can't express our gratitude loudly enough to everyone who lends us their support."