Can't stop, won't stop this year's online auction

We don't know what the future holds, but this weekend we can inject some positivity into it.

For the 12th year in a row, we're holding the #Dominicstrong online auction, with every penny spent donated to the Alberta Children's Hospital via Extra Life.

Much as the kids staying at the hospital often don't know the prognosis before they get there, just that something's wrong, the days leading up to the auction are typically fraught with stress as we scramble to get all the items accounted for, valued, descriptions written and photos taken. It's a huge undertaking.

Between Trish's surgery and all the extra work I did for Special Olympics, we really leaned on our friends for this auction. Krista, Nicole, and Sara all asked for donations and were incredible. So after having 97 official items last year, we're up over 120 this time around, which is wild. Here's to hoping we'll break the $10,000 barrier again.

That's where you come in. See, there are two phases to a successful auction: donors and bidders. The donors have done their job. There's a ton of valuable items to be had.

But remember, this is a charity event! It's great if you get some smokin' deals, but every penny spent goes to the best cause possible: Children's health. So don't be shy, outbid one another! Spread the word and get more eyes on the items! Instead of upping the price by $1, maybe up it by $5. Have fun with it, but also know the outcome we're all after is making the world a better place. You getting some delicious food or a handmade blanket/art/photography session is all part of that too.

I was about to lament the fact we don't have anything with the iconic word art logo in the auction this year, but it turns out we do. Trish's mom donated a piece she won back to the auction. Thank you, Anne. We do want people to keep the items they win though, so maybe don't bid on it again this year?!

As always, bidding starts at 5 p.m. (MST) sharp on Friday, Oct. 2. It all ends at 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4. Really want to win something? Set an alarm for 4 p.m. and double-check you're still the high bidder. Or maybe just throw an extra bid on for fun (😉).

We'll be taking e-transfers and offering pickup/deliveries for the winning items as soon as Sunday night, with all the money needing to be paid by Monday evening so we can announce the totals.

It's been a long week, but let's end it with a plan to do some good.

Visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/dominicstrong to find the auction. It's both under the media section as a photo album (every photo in the album is an auction item, you bid in the comments), and links to the album are shared as the top pinned post on the page.

As always, appreciate your support.