Our dear friend Dawn works for Arrupe Jesuit High School, which is a very unique and impressive high school in the Denver area. It makes a college preparatory education an attainable goal for a diverse group of students who may otherwise not have access to that opportunity.
Each year Arrupe Jesuit holds a fundraiser night, called Magis Night to help raise money for the school. This night entails a cocktail hour and silent auction followed by a dinner and presentations, a live auction and opportunity for straight cash donations.
The staff at Arrupe work for months in preparation for this night. Planning the event, getting speakers, accumulating items for the auctions, securing the venue, and the list goes on and on. And when it comes down to the final hours, some extra help is always greatly appreciated. So each year Steve and I and at least one of our girls helps Dawn prepare for the silent auction portion of the evening.
This year, on Friday morning, I arrived at Dawn's house at 7:30 to help her load up the U-Haul moving van that we use every year to move silent auction items from her house and the school to the Sheraton Hotel in Downtown Denver where the event will be held.
But when I arrived this year, the truck was already loaded. Dawn and Steve had been up late the night before waiting for the arrival of out of town guests (who were also here to help with the silent auction), and they had loaded the entire truck, so that made our morning very, very easy.
Since her guests arrived so late last night (after 24 hours of travel), they decided to sleep in instead of heading to the Sheraton early with us. So Dawn and I jumped in the U-Haul and headed to the school where we would pick up more items.
When we arrived at the school, everyone jumped into action, including staff and many students, helping to move boxes and boxes of silent auction items from the school to the moving van, but it became clear very quickly that we were not going to have enough room in the moving van, so Dawn also grabbed her truck so we could load it up too. In addition to that, it also required two SUV's to move the more fragile items. Whew!
Once we got to the loading docks at the Sheraton, there was another crew waiting for us there, to help unload all of the precious cargo we had hauled downtown. They immediately went to work, unloading all of the vehicles and loading everything onto the freight elevators to be once again unloaded on the correct floor and then moved to the event area.
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| As always, this huge freight elevator got a really good work out! |
It is amazing what a well oiled machine this is. Everyone knows what to do, and they all do such a fantastic job keeping everything moving!
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| Decorations in waiting |
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| And so much assembly, especially in the children's section |
Once Dawn took care of everything she needed to do, we headed back to the high school and I took her truck home for her so it wouldn't be stranded at the school. I was not part of the Friday evening setup, but there was definitely a lot happening behind the scenes while I was away.
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| The ballroom was set up for all of the guests, and the speakers were practicing their speeches |
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| The registration table |
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| Silent auction items were beautifully arranged and ready for the guests. Steve and our oldest daughter do some last minute preps in the kids section |
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| The wine table items are beautifully arranged with bid cards |
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| Every table is meticulously designed for the ease of the guests |
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| Steve and I excited and ready to help with the silent auction |
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| The beautiful centerpieces in the ballroom |
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| And the ballroom is starting to come to life |
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| The guests will be greeted by the themed display at the entry |
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| Look at this amazing hand painted item for bid at the silent auction |
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| Each year many of Dawn's friends and family come to help her with this huge event. These are amazing people, and I love everyone of them! |
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| Many years an artist paints during the silent auction, his finished product will be auctioned off during the live auction at the end of the night |
Each of the volunteers is responsible for an area of the silent auction. We mingled with the guests, answered questions, and work hard to see that the silent auction is running smoothly. All of the attendees are such amazing people, and so much fun to talk to. We really have a fun job!
Dawn puts all of the kids to work selling raffle tickets during the silent auction, so this is where our oldest daughter stepped in. This also gives them a chance to talk to all of the guests, and enjoy the night. They also helped with the live auction at the end of the presentations. They always have a great time, and feel good about how they spent their evening.
Each volunteer has a bidding number and is able to bid on all of the items up for auction. Steve, our daughter and I worked hard for several items this year, but were outbid multiple times on all of them. So even though we didn't get our items, we are happy that they went to a good home, and that Arrupe benefited from our loss. We have actually been successful bidders in year's past, and have come home with some really nice items.
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| Hundreds of guests enjoy a fabulous dinner and presentation |
And when the silent auction is over, and the guests are all seated, we begin to move all of the silent auction items into the pickup area. This job requires a lot of teamwork and organization to make sure that the right items go to the correct people. Dawn is the most organized person I know, to be able to organize all of us volunteers and flawlessly deliver the silent auction items to their rightful owners year after year!
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| Our oldest daughter and I organizing the jewelry after the silent auction has closed |
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| Organized items waiting to be delivered to the pickup room |
Once all of the silent auction items are moved to the pickup room, they are organized for delivery. The silent auction volunteers then take on new roles of delivering items, helping guests, collecting name tags, clean up, and so many others.
Steve, our girls and I have been part of this amazing event for the last five years. It truly brings joy to our hearts to think of all of the deserving kids who will benefit from the generosity of others! We feel very honored and privileged to be included! Thank you Dawn for another great year!
For more information about Arrupe Jesuit High School, which we obtained from their website, please feel free to keep reading. The success rate of their students is a testament to the quality of this school!
- Arrupe Jesuit serves an ethnically diverse group of over 380 adolescent boys and girls.
- 90% of their student body is Hispanic, 1% African-American, 2% Asian, 3% Caucasian, and 4% of other nationalities.
- Nearly 78% of Arrupe students qualify for the federal free/reduced lunch program.
- Arrupe Jesuit charges the lowest tuition of any private high school in Denver and is the only school able to fund 100% of families’ assessed financial need.
- 93% of Arrupe Jesuit students receive financial aid to offset tuition.
- Arrupe Jesuit is preparing students for success in college and beyond.
- All 85 members of the Class of 2015 were accepted to at least one college or university of their choice, with 92% being accepted to a four-year institution.
- 92% of the Class of 2014 were the first in their family to attend college; 44% were the first to graduate high school.
- Members of the Class of 2015 were accepted to 43 colleges and universities across the country, and are attending 21 different schools this year.
- The Class of 2015 has earned over $6.23 million in scholarships to date.
Arrupe Jesuit High School is a response to a critical community need. Fewer than half of Colorado’s African-American, Latino, and American Indian students graduate from high school, versus 75% of white students.
In 2004, 78% of Colorado’s white students scored proficient or advanced on CSAP reading tests, compared to only 40% of Latino and 47% of African-American students. In 2002 only 22% of Colorado’s low-income students went on to college, ranking the state 35th in the nation; only 11% of 18-24 year-old Latinos were enrolled in college at the time.
The Corporate Work Study Program provides a financial backbone that makes Arrupe’s education possible. Students work at over 120 area businesses, including law firms, health centers, banks, government offices, and nonprofits. Students earn approximately 65% of their tuition by working five days per month in an area business and a modest tuition contribution from their families. Corporate sponsors have responded enthusiastically to Arrupe Jesuit’s program. I obtained the above information from Arrupe's website which is located at http://www.arrupejesuit.com/
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