A loonie and a little luck is all it takes to get a special treasure, a gift basket or a gift certificate to a favourite restaurant during the Handy Circle Resource Society's annual Loonie Auction Oct. 22 and 23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The event will be held in AiMHi's gymnasium, 950 Kerry St., and is a major fundraiser for the society.
The Handy Circle Resource Society, located at 101-490 Quebec St., provides and promotes public awareness, peer counseling, information and referral services for those with special needs.
As soon as Shirley Byman, vice chair of the society, office volunteer and self-proclaimed gofer, sat down to chat about the upcoming fundraiser, she couldn't help but mention the founder of Handy Circle, Vivienne Candy, who established the society in 1985 and died in April 2007.
"She was a wonderful woman and a great advocate for Handy Circle," said Byman. "Vivienne got a lot of things done that wouldn't have got done without her - like getting ramps on buildings so they are accessible for people who are disabled."
So far the Loonie Auction has 230 items that have been donated from local businesses.
The auction sees those interested in winning the draw for an particular item place as many tickets into the bag beside the item as they think it will take to maximize the odds to win. Then at 2 p.m. sharp Sunday, Oct. 23 the draws will start for all the items. If a guest is lucky their name will be drawn and they'll win the item and immediately take it home with them.
There are also 50/50 draws that are only a loonie, too.
Part of the charm is that Handy Circle believes money really does grow on trees and always creates some loonie trees that sees the coins dangling from the limbs of little trees so some lucky winners can even win get cold, hard cash during the auction.
For those with a sweet tooth there's also some chocolate loonie trees as well, said Byman.
"People have a lot of fun when they come," said Byman. "They know it's one of our major fundraisers and we are a good organization. We try to help everybody that we possibly can and if we can't help those people out we will refer them to someone who can help them."
Sometimes people don't need anything other than a sympathetic ear and Byman assures them that they can come into the office for that, too.
"The Loonie Auction is a great chance to get out with friends and have some fun," said Byman. "It really is the luck of the draw."
Check the website for a list of donated items at www.handycirclepg.ca, click on calendar and Loonie Auction.
