Lions auction nearly quadruples charity fundraising

Lions Club Toodyay
John Pearce – Auction Coordinator

THIS year our 39th Lions Jumbo Auction was held on Saturday April 5 and it was truly a community event with 10 club and 19 community members contributing to what was a successful day.
Their assistance in, for example, cataloguing auction items, laying out the oval and unloading items was appreciated.

In the lead up to the auction we aimed to promote this event differently, including through road signs, Toodyay Herald advertising and a Facebook campaign.

This also included interviews with our beneficiaries and auctioneer as well as advertising some of our fantastic items.

The day was wonderful with lovely overcast weather, very different to the evening of the day before the auction.

The lot numbers and bidders were down this year.

We had several lots that were donations from business and community members including hay, gravel, sand and water, hardware, power tools and stock feed.

There was also a household of furniture.

Each item sold over the reserve price.

Now for the magic part. This year’s auction raised approximately $9000 – a fabulous achievement and a massive boost from the $2500 raised in 2024.

The local community truly came onboard to support the auction which is fantastic.

The auction changed last year when more local businesses became involved and items this year included bakery vouchers, hay and trade discounts.

As a club we would like to thank our volunteer ‘Friends of Lions’ for your assistance on the Friday set up, and on the day with auction scribing and running sheets back to the office.

We could not have done this without you.

This year’s beneficiaries, include Toodyay Youth Care Council, Forget-Me-Not Café, and Toodyay Junior Soccer Club – with each group receiving $2500.

A ‘Thank You Morning Tea’ was held for all involved on Sunday April 27. Thanks to the CWA the food was sensational.

Thanks must also go to our sellers and bidders on the day and the community support for a memorable auction.

We must not forget our auctioneers Tony Maddox (a 30 year+ supporter of the auction) and Adrian Gamble for an entertaining day.

I’d like to also personally thank everyone involved in making the 2025 auction such a great success.

The support of the Shire of Toodyay was also invaluable and I thank the shire CEO Aaron Bowman and his senior managers in Vanessa Crispe and Sandra Watson.

If you are thinking of finding out more about who we are and what we do in your community, we meet on the first Tuesday of the month at the Toodyay Hotel 6.30pm.

You will be most welcome to attend.

Like us on Facebook and visit our website for more information.