Jan Buechler announces the amount of money Mike Wyant helped raise with donations taken at the Christmas lights display at We Care park.
(KT photo by Shawn Knapp)
We Care cleans up
By KATHERINE LEWIS
Tribune staff writer
Monday, December 13, 2004
Dawn McKinney said she loves watching the We Care telethon each December. Sunday, as she browsed tables filled with items for We care's cleanup auction, she decided she didn't want the We Care season to end."Normally, I have to work, but this year I didn't," she said. "I wanted to come out and see what it was all about. I love to feel the spirit of We Care. I am sorry it is almost over."McKinney was one of hundreds who came to bid on everything from exercise equipment and books to toy cars and even a bathtub at the We Care cleanup auction Sunday at the Johanning Civic Center. By 8 p.m., the auction had raised more than $20,000 for We Care, which helps out five local charities at Christmas. Final totals were not available at the Tribune's deadline.The money collected from the auction will be added to donations from the We Care Christmas Tree Auction, which netted $69,095.51, and the We Care telethon, which collected $363,758.The money will then be distributed Wednesday to five organizations -- The Kokomo Rescue Mission, The Salvation Army, Bona Vista, the Mental Health Association and The Kokomo Tribune's Goodfellows.Jan Buechler, We Care organizer, said volunteers worked late Saturday night unloading a "semi and two-thirds [of a semi]" of items for the cleanup auction.She said she was thrilled to see all of the people who had come out for the auction."Because of economic conditions around here, some of the charities are falling short," she said. "We are grateful to all of the people who have been so generous. They have been that way all season," she said. McKinney said people in the community don't realize how much they are helping."So many people need these services. When you buy things like this, you are helping to give someone blankets and food -- the things we take for granted. I think people just don't realize how far the money goes," she said. The bidding started on $7,300 worth of bad bids, where people pledged to purchase the items, but failed picked them up after the telethon.Annette Thornsbury and her daughters picked up a pair of pillows, which had received a bad bid of $200, for $25."It was good for me, but bad for the little ones," she said. "I am upset to see the bad bids. We Care does so many things to help children."Thornsbury's daughter, 10-year-old Sharra, said she tried to help her mom win the pillows."It is confusing," she said of her first We Care auction. "You can't understand what he is saying."Larry Brankle said he enjoyed the cleanup auction and said his wife found several items for them to bid on."We come out and see what they have. It's a nice way to enjoy the day," he said. "A lot of people are a lot worse off than we are. We can give a little bit."Before the auction, Mike Wyant presented Buechler with a check for $42,100, which he and his brothers collected from motorists who passed through their Christmas light display at We Care Park."The community was so generous," Wyant said. "It just proved Kokomo is a great place to live; a great place to raise a family. I feel so good knowing we've helped people."
Buechler pointed out that since 1996, the Wyants have donated more than $180,000 to We Care. "It's overwhelming," she said. "Especially with the weather we have been having. They've worked hard."We Care also passed buckets throughout the auction crowd to collect for the William "Chandler" Walker Memorial Fund. Walker was killed Saturday morning in a fire at his home in the 400 block West Taylor Street. Walker's step-grandfather, Dave Broman, is the program director at WWKI, where We Care's offices are located.
Katherine Lewis may be reached at via e-mail at [email protected]
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