Help the PPW Conference Silent Auction

PPWC_2016_Auction from Stacy Jensen on Vimeo.

By: Stacy S. Jensen 

We're having a silent auction again this year at Pikes Peak Writers Conference.

You know the kind where you write your bids down and then wait until the final buzzer to outbid your friends. It's all friendly and for a great cause.

Monies raised from the auction are used to support Pikes Peak Writers programs — workshops, critique groups, and writer events — and the conference scholarship fund.

There are two ways to support the auction.

Option One — make a donation.

"What type of donation?"

I'm glad you asked.

Really, we can use anything you think a writer might like — an online course to study the writing craft, books, chocolate, wine, a journal, a critique, or a service you think a writer may enjoy. Critiques and editing services are very popular with conference attendees. No item is too small. We can combine several individual items into a basket.

If you want to make a donation, please visit this form to share donation details. If you have questions, please email. Donors receive a letter from Pikes Peak Writers for tax purposes. Please let us know about your donations by March 25.

Option Two — make a bid.

While at conference, check out the display of items being auctioned. They are across from the registration desk. Bid as often and as high as you want. Feel free to bid as high as want.

To participate in the auction:

• The silent auction is open at the beginning of registration and ends on April 16 (time will be announced) at conference.
• Review the items on display.
• Put your bid and contact information on the bid sheet
• Check randomly to see, if anyone has added a higher bid than your own.
• Before the auction closes, you have a few minutes to see if you want to outbid your competition.
• Once the auction closes, fundraising volunteers review the bids and begin contacting the winning bidders. Items may be picked up at the registration table and paid for in the conference bookstore. If you don't pick up your item and pay for it Saturday, it will be in the bookstore on Sunday morning for purchase.
• You do not have to be present to win an auction item. You just have to have the highest bid.

Encourage your friends to make a bid. Really, it's easy. Pick up a pen and go for it. 

So, let's not be silent about this whole auction thing. Let's be loud about it and raise some money to support the ongoing efforts of Pikes Peak Writers. 

I'm happy to answer questions here or via email. 

About the Author: Stacy S. Jensen worked as a newspaper reporter and editor for two decades. Today, she writes picture books and revises a memoir manuscript. She lives in Colorado Springs with her husband and son.

July Letter From the Editor

June was once again a rough month for our local community, with the Black Forest fire impacting Black Forest, Monument, northern Colorado Springs, and surrounding areas. Many homes were lost in addition to two lives. The impact didn't stop there. Many were evacuated, staying with friends and family or in hotels. Residents of surrounding cities watched newscasts in helpless horror as the fire spread, hoping and praying for rain, for some change that might put the fire out.

Pikes Peak Writers helped in our own small way by collecting donations for Tri-Lakes Cares at two events this past weekend. The funds collected will go toward getting necessary items, such as medications, gas vouchers, food, household goods, etc., for those affected by the Black Forest fire, with neither Pikes Peak Writers nor Tri-Lakes Cares keeping any portion for administrative expenses. Our thanks go out to those who attended and/or contributed in any way.

Tri-Lakes Cares is providing ongoing services. Please check here for their current needs.

As we move forward, please keep those impacted by the fires around the state in your thoughts and prayers. They have a long road ahead of them, even with the fire under control. Recovery is ongoing for those impacted by last year's fire, so we have many needing support right now, financial, emotional, and otherwise.

This past week, the Mountain Shadows neighborhood came together to observe the one year anniversary of the Waldo Canyon fire. In light of current events, it also became a fundraising opportunity for charities related to the Black Forest fire. First responders were there, including one of our local wildfire groups, and the Flying W Wranglers sang a song devoted to those who experienced the fire.

Mountain Shadows Park was packed, with people discussing the progress of their new homes, experiences being traded, and thanks being given for all the hard work done to save homes and businesses last year.

What was shown most of all was hope, resiliency, and community. Despite terrible experiences, the people of Mountain Shadows and surrounding areas are moving forward with positive attitudes and a strengthened sense of community. This is a lesson we can all learn from, a means of hope for everyone.

July is a time of recovery, of hope, of marching forward, no matter what you're faced with. Here is to overcoming adversity.

~Shannon Lawrence

Managing Editor, Writing From the Peak

NCE Director, Pikes Peak Writers