The preliminary estimated total is $106,000 for the evening's itinerary of games, silent and live auctions, paddle raiser donations and new shelter cat-themed donation cards. And, the total will most likely climb higher for the event overall, when all the accounting details are finalized, which -- among other things -- includes donations by mail still coming in from those who were unable to attend the 2015 TOPC Gala Dinner and Auction.
Denver's 'Auctioneer Extraordinaire' Doug Tisdale returned for a third year to run the live auction, serving as a Siamese Savior event sponsor. Joining him on stage was 9News Reporter (and life-long cat lover) Steve Staeger as Master of Ceremonies.
Topping the winning bids for live auction painted cats was Africat by Jane McFadden Dorsey.
After a bidding war of the highest order, TOPC reached a new high for a single painted cat at an amazing $13,000. With the agreement of the winner and Dorsey, the runner up bidder is also going to be able to purchase their own Africat for $13,000 as well, which Dorsey will be creating during the next few months (before the sixth chapter of TOPC 2017 commences shortly after the first of the year).
In addition, Africat received the People's Choice Award (based on voting by the People of Denver during the 2015 TOPC Summer Tour). As the artist, Dorsey, received a gift card to Piatti Ristorante in Cherry Creek. Piatti is a multi-year donor of the People's Choice gift card and a multi-year participant in the CCS Feasting For Felines program. Piatti's owner is an adopter of a CCS shelter kitty.
The remaining Live Auction painted cats garnered the following top bids: Route 66 by Wendy M. Luck, $7,000; La Catrina by Amanda S. R. Salazar, $4,000; Lil Ms. Sunshine by Ella Buchholz, $2,500; and Botani-Cat by Jody Rigsby, $2,100. If you're calculating, yes, the TOPC Live Auction cats provided a mind-boggling $41,600 for the CCS shelter cats and community outreach programs. Stopping here, we must mention how grateful we are for this amazing infusion of funds now available to help CCS and its mission helping cats!
The Live Auction also awarded two trips for a South African Photo Safari at the Zulu Nyala luxury resort and a demo painting by Botani-Cat Artist Jody Rigsby. Plus, not to be done yet, five high bidders received $100 gift cards to these beloved area restaurants during the Live Auction: Elway's, ChoLon, Cru Wine Bar, 240 Union and Bonefish Grill.
This year's winner of the Raffle Cat, Dale Cat-Huly by Carla Pawlewicz, was long-time CCS Volunteer Kay Higgins.
In addition to Tisdale & Associates, LLC, event sponsors included: Lakewood Arts Council Gallery, Main Street Fine Art in Evergreen and Art of Life Gallery, LLC. Gala centerpieces were again provided by Dave Barnes of Scenographics in Denver.
The TOPC Gala Dinner and Auction is not returning until 2017 -- the exact date is still pending. Artist recruitment will begin shortly after the first of the year.
If you are interested in being a Tails of the Painted Cats artist in the future, contact Jane Dorsey for more information at: jdorsey@catcaresociety.org or 303.239.9680, ext. 16.
Link to the full release
Link to view the Event Photos by ZebraJellyfish.com LLC/Richard Mauro Ricchiuti
The Cat Care Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for homeless, injured and abused cats in the Denver metropolitan area. In an effort to prevent animal neglect and abuse, CCS offers educational programs that promote responsible pet ownership and humane treatment of all animals; provides shelter for cats in a healthy, cage-free environment; and works to find compatible families for every feline that comes into the facility. The shelter provides a loving, temporary refuge for more than 50 cats at any given time, affordable veterinary services to the general public and a free food and litter bank for cat owners experiencing temporary financial challenges. For more information, please visit www.catcaresociety.org, follow us on Twitter at @CatCareSociety or like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CatCareSociety.
# # #
MEDIA CONTACT:
Maggie Holben
Volunteer – Media Relations
mholben@catcaresociety.org
303-669-3558
No comments:
Post a Comment