“For the first time our committee members could actually sit and eat their lunch while we had volunteers packing up the auction items,” said center director of development Roxanne Jacobs. “The guests loved them because they were so fresh-faced. A lot of our guests are in their 70s, and they can’t carry these things out, so these college kids would take them to the valet to put in their cars.”
The luncheon is always held during the week, so many of the organization’s regular volunteers are not available because they are at work. The partnership with Palm Beach State College developed when the school’s volunteer coordinator contacted the center to ask if they needed assistance.
Money raised at the luncheon supports the center’s efforts to provide vocations and life-skills training for adults with disabilities. As an additional source of revenue, at the end of the luncheon, guests were invited to take home an orchid centerpiece for a $25 donation. Guests purchased 29 of the 30 centerpieces, for a total of $725.
In addition to the auctions, the luncheon included a fashion show from the Mildred Hoit store in Palm Beach.
