The Prep Auction was a great success with over 500 attendees raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for Prep and the newly named Kathy Krueger Student Support Fund. After spending many days creating ideas, this year’s Auction Chair, Christine Leahy, along with Stephanie Benjamin, Prep’s Auction and Events Manager, Alice Evans, the Development Assistant and parent volunteer Kristin Fleischauer, created and presented the theme “Dream On” for the auction.

“We knew we wanted something inspirational and not too thematic. We felt Dream On was perfect coming off of Prep’s 125th Anniversary Celebration the year before and knowing that our Fund-a-Need was going to be dedicated to the Kathy Krueger Student Support Fund,” said Leahy.

The Kathy Krueger Student Support Fund helps pay for the extra needs financial aid students need, such as lunch money, the bus ride to Prep, a Surface, books and ebooks. Mrs. Krueger, a former Director of College Counseling who managed the Student Support Fund, was honored at the Live Auction dinner for her hard work and dedication to the school. She now works with Seattle Nativity School graduates at Prep and serves as the Director of Alumni Relations.
Leahy said, “Mrs. Krueger received a standing ovation from the crowd in recognition of her years of service and commitment to Prep students.”

Many students helped contribute to the “Dream On” auction by sharing their own dreams. Leahy said she was astonished by all the dreams students shared. “We had all kinds — some inspirational (peace in the world), pretty funny (longer battery life on the new Surface), a bit odd (grilled beef and a George Foreman Grill), but mostly heartfelt and meaningful (a cure for Alzheimer’s, becoming Secretary of State).”

There are many things that take place in the planning of the auction. Leahy, Benjamin, and the Development Team worked since August to plan and organize the event. Leahy said the major components that go into planning and executing the auction are “the procurement and management of items for our online, silent and Live auctions, sponsorships, marketing the event, writing the auction catalog, developing the Fund-a-Need and the video shown on auction night, managing the reservations of all the guests, setting up and tearing down the event, working with all the vendors, managing all the logistics and student and parent volunteers, and then, after the event, ensuring that attendee’s purchases are processed and the items that they purchased are organized and picked up!”

Dozens of amazing volunteers are required to make the auction run smoothly. Some include the administration, staff, parents, alumni, students, vendors and friends of Prep. Leahy said after the event, they have many volunteers helping to “tear it all down and that starts immediately after the Live Auction is over on Friday night and continues until about 2pm on Saturday. It’s amazing that it all happens in three days.”

Many months of planning and volunteers later, the auction raised more than $800,000 which includes $331,000 for the Kathy Krueger Student Support Fund, exceeding the auction goal. Leahy said “Prep is so grateful for the incredible generosity of our community. It was a great night in support of our Panther Nation!”