Cornerstone Elementary School Auction Set for Friday in Dexter

Get your checkbooks out, the annual silent auction is back again this year, with plenty of food, prizes and fun.

The auction is one of the Cornerstone Parent-Teacher Group’s largest fundraisers of the year. The free event will run from 6-9 p.m. Friday at the school, and includes a Carribean-themed dinner, games, raffles and the silent auction.

"We're looking forward to this year's auction," event chairwoman Ginger Votaw said. "There's a lot of really neat baskets that will see some pretty competitive bidding."

The theme of the auction this year is “Cornerstone Cruise." Each classroom contributes a basket full of prizes that spectators can bid on. Votaw said some of this year's items include an Amazon Kindle, a riverboat cruise, helicopter ride over Ann Arbor, a weekend condo rental in Chicago, sports packages and spa packages. There will also be a raffle for a $99 Visa gift card, as well as mystery bags available for $30 that include $100-$200 worth of gifts.

In addition to the silent auction, there will be several children's activities, including presentations by the and YoJake (Jake Maloney of Ann Arbor), a professional yo-yo entertainer. Attendees will also have the opportunity to view student artwork in the school’s library.

Votaw said the event raised $16,500 last year, which is used to purchase iPads for teachers, special presentations for students from the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, and other classroom supplies to assist with instruction.

"The silent auction is one of the premiere nights for Cornerstone," principal Craig McCalla said in a prior interview. "The activities for the students, snacks, mystery bags and the classroom and parent-created baskets are amazing. The Cornerstone students will benefit greatly from all of our parent group's hard work."

For more information about the silent auction, contact Votaw at gingerlynn1030@yahoo.com.