Boca Raton Christian School will host it’s 30th Annual Christmas Dinner and Auction on Saturday, December 5 at 5pm.
The event, which has been a staple of the school’s fundraising efforts, normally would attract over 300 people to the school. However, with COVID-19 that has to change.
To keep the event COVID-19 safe guests that attend in person can choose to sit in groups of 2, 4, or 6, everybody will be wearing masks and socially distancing, appetizers will be served in individual containers, and only the server and the recipient will be coming into contact with the main course.
In order to reach those who prefer to stay at home, the event will allow for online bidding during the live auction this year, as opposed to in the past when only bidding before and during the silent auction was available online. There are 200 silent auction items and 20 live auction items available, and the school is expecting around 100 in-person guests this year. To purchase tickets, bid online, or for event details, click here.
Boca Christian is in the top 15% of U.S. high schools, they have received the U.S. Department of Educations’ National Blue Ribbon School award twice and 88% of their students graduate with college credits.
Last week Pedro Heizer interviewed Bill Hood II, the Coordinator of Alumni and Donor Relations at Boca Christian as part of the Tribune’s Business Highlights series and one thing apparent in the interview is how passionate Hood is about the education Boca Christian provides. “Many of our students we say, come early [in preschool] and stay long [until graduation in High School],” explained Bill Hood II, the Coordinator of Alumni and Donor Relations. “Watching the impact on a student after all those years and seeing what they do when they graduate, yeah that’s pretty amazing” Hood states.
Hood says that continuing a relationship with donors and alumni during the COVID-19 pandemic “has been a challenge”, but the team stays on their toes. “Tuition does not pay for everything we do” he points out, which means that events like Boca Christian’s upcoming auction are important in maintaining the school’s high standard of education.
In addition to his thirty-one-year history with Boca Christian, Hood and his family are further ingrained in the Boca Raton community as auctioneers. Bill Hood and Sons has been auctioning off art and antiques for over 25 years, so it makes sense the fundraising auction for the school originated with Hood. “My dad, my brother and I are auctioneers” he says, “back in the day I decided hey, we should start an auction, and we should have fun raising funds for the school”, and so started the tradition. The first auction took place on the field in a tent in the morning, they had coffee and donuts, and raised around $8,000 for the school. Since then “it has grown,” Hood laughs, last year the auction raised $180,000.
When asked what some of his favorite items that he has auctioned off over the years are, Hood says that ”my favorite items have been those that people love the most” such as football and basketball tickets, family vacations, and even quilts hand-made by the schools’ teachers.
This year brings its own set of unique items, such as a Zoom meeting with actor Noah Centineo, or the opportunity to drive an exotic car for the weekend. And the money raised will of course go towards helping the school in areas such as adding flat panel interactive TV’s to more of the classrooms and new playground equipment.