As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Special Olympics, we are taking a look back at the #50moments that have defined the Special Olympics movement here in B.C. and throughout the world.
The New Car Dealers Foundation / Special Olympics BC Auction is an important annual event, raising significant funds to support Special Olympics BC and the work of the New Car Dealers Foundation. Over the last three decades, the auction has raised more than $4.9 million, helping change countless lives and empower Special Olympics athletes throughout the province to enrich their lives through sport.
The event started life in 1987 as the popular Casino Auction in support of SOBC. Held on April 10 at Canada Place, the inaugural evening saw 800 to 900 people taking part in a fun night of games, festivities, and an exciting auction to help raise funds and awareness for SOBC.
Chaired by prominent member of the automobile business community Sherrold Haddad, the first event was a great success, raising $50,000 to support the development of SOBC programs in British Columbia.
Following on from this accomplishment, the auction became an annual event. Its fundraising strength continued to grow, with the total soaring to $120,000 in its second year and raising $180,000 the following year, making it the largest single-event fundraiser in SOBC history. By 1994, it had already raised over $1.1 million for SOBC.
As times changed, the auction grew and changed too. In the late 1990s, seeking to expand the auction so that dealers outside the Lower Mainland could participate, the dinner/auction began the transition from an event to what is now an online auction. This transition began under the leadership of committee chair Tom Harris, a great champion of Special Olympics, who sadly passed away in 2017.
Over the next couple of years, bidding by fax and email were replaced with bidding online through a dedicated auction website, which was dramatically revamped in 2016. Throughout the technological changes, the New Car Dealers Foundation of BC / Special Olympics Auction has remained a very successful initiative that provides significant funding to SOBC and the New Car Dealers Foundation.
The New Car Dealers Foundation / Special Olympics BC Auction is possible thanks to the dedicated auction committee, who give countless hours to make this event a success for the charities, and the many dealers who generously support the auction by making a cash pledge, donating auction items, soliciting donations, and/or bidding on items.
Please click here make a donation to the 2019 New Car Dealers Foundation / Special Olympics BC Auction
This important auction is part of the significant support of the New Car Dealers Association, who also give SOBC a presence at the annual Vancouver International Auto Show, taking place this year from March 19 to 24 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Here, SOBC athletes will greet members of the automotive industry at Unveiled, an opening night celebration of the glamourous automotive event on March 19.
We are so grateful to the New Car Dealers Association of BC and everyone who has been involved in the New Car Dealers Foundation / Special Olympics BC Auction over the last three decades. This support has been instrumental in helping SOBC grow from two weekends of games with about 500 participants to involving more than 4,800 athletes in 55 communities around the province. It has helped change the lives of thousands of athletes and, in turn, the lives of everyone they touch.