Michael Tannebaum

Faith Sellers stands by a few of the more than 500 items available at a silent auction being held at the Faith Sellers Senior Center in Summerville.

More than 500 items including gift cards for local restaurants, spa packages and tickets to sporting events are currently up for bid at a silent auction to benefit Dorchester Seniors, Inc.

The silent auction, which runs until 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21, is the only annual fundraiser for Dorchester Seniors, which consists of the Faith Sellers Senior Center in Summerville and the David Sojourner Senior Center in St. George.

Last year’s silent auction and craft fair grossed about $6,000, which continues to help support programs that feed homebound seniors, provides social opportunities and teaches illiterate seniors how to read, said Kristina Clemens, financial manager for the Faith Sellers Senior Center.

“A lot of seniors don’t have the resources or physical ability to prepare meals for themselves and often times, we’re the only social interaction they have,” Clemens said. “For a lot of (our members), this center is the reason they get up in the morning. We become their family.”

In addition to the ongoing silent auction, a craft fair featuring about 50 local and regional vendors will be held Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Center.

“There will be an assortment of homemade crafts including jewelry, clothing, soaps and other items,” Clemens said. “You could bring your entire holiday gift list and come away with what you need.”

All proceeds from the silent auction and craft fair will go toward supporting programs and operations at each of the Centers. Last year, Dorchester Seniors provided 13,000 hours of in-home care, logged more than 207,000 senior passenger miles on their vans and buses and prepared and served more than 80,000 meals between the home delivery program and the group dining program.

Dorchester Seniors staff and volunteers solicited different local businesses to donate items for the silent auction and the participation was “tremendous,” Clemens said.

Among the other items featured in the silent auction are dish sets, artwork and tickets to a performance by The Flowertown Players. Also, a raffle for a 32-inch Sony Flat Screen HDTV will be held Saturday at 3 p.m.

The Faith Sellers Senior Center is located at 312 N. Laurel Street, Summerville. For more information, call the Center at 871-5053.

Contact Michael Tannebaum at 873-9424 ext. 215 or mtannebaum@journalscene.com

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