Whether you go to the Sweet Hearts Dance or made it a goal to dress up every day of this week, it’s important to see how much impact an event contributes to giving to people in our community and focus on why we set aside a whole week to help others. The Benefit dinner and the Silent Auction is a considerable part of Heart Week that incorporates students from the high school and volunteers from the community.

The Benefit Dinner and Silent Auction was Thursday, February 12 from 5-7pm.  While it provided food for $10 per person or $40 for a family of 4 or more, it also had a Silent Auction that allowed people in the community to contribute in slightly different ways by providing something for others could bid on and win. The Benefit Dinner raised $7,000 last year out of the total amount of $38,000, which means they raised only 20% of the total amount. This number may seem small, but the total amount raised for Heart Week has steadily increased to about $2,000 each year. This shows the event is growing and becoming more popular even after the 15-17 years that it has been around. According to a Student Government Representative, Annika Samuelson, “Roughly 400 people have attended the Benefit Dinner and Silent Auction events in past years.” To make this event successful, they needed a strong and compassionate group of people to work behind the scenes and ensure the events ran smoothly and were enjoyable for the participators. The kitchen Staff at the high school worked closely with around 50 people yearly that tirelessly worked to make the event a success.

To persuade members of the community to participate in the Benefit Dinner and the Silent Auction, Student Government has added a special touch to their advertisements by sending individual invitations to staff members encouraging them to bring their family and attend the event. A personal touch in advertising has hopefully added a way of drawing more people to this event.

At the end of the week as people went home full, tired and satisfied, the community members looked back on the event as a way for them to support others around them. While this event may pale in comparison to more entertaining events, it cannot be denied that an evening filled with giving contributes a meaningful amount of money and support.