GAD Auction

In Peace Corps Jamaica we have different subcommittees that we can join for various causes. The point of the subcommittees are great for collaboration on projects, sharing resources, generateing funds, etc. One of the subcommittees is called Gender and Development (GAD), and their focus is obviously tackling gender issues in Jamaica.

It is a tradition for GAD to have a yearly auction where they can generate more funds for an island wide project. The auction is really neat cause the items that are auctioned off are things that we PCVs donate ourselves. Some items include: visit/tours of interesting places in Jamaica, baked goodies, hand crafted jewelery, yoga lessons, etc. So we donate things for the auction and then we all get together to bid on the items. My friend Alicia was in charge of putting together the auction this year and she asked me to be a Vanna White for the auction and display the items up for auction. I had so much fun modeling the prizes and helping the announcer, Jason, run the auction. We were able to raise $70,000 JA for GAD which is an amazing amount of money ($1,000 US)!!

The plan is to use this money to launch an island wide calender contest. Students from all over JA will be educated on how to be respectful to each other and better treat the opposite sex. Then they will be able to create a piece of art that represents what they've learned about respect and enter it in the contest. The winners will be part of a calender for 2010. It is planned for the calendars to be created with the money we generated. The winners will receive their own calendar and then the others will be available for sale at a low price to generate even more funds for GAD and more projects in the future.

It is exciting to see what a little collaboration can do and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the calenders next year! When they are finished I'll let you know how you can buy your very own! :D