For the third year in a row, Jefferson College Foundation will hold an online fundraising auction instead of the Jazz & Jeans Dinner, Music & Auction event it used to put on each year.
The online event is being held because of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Blake Tilley, the foundation’s executive director.
He said that even though COVID-19 restrictions recently loosened, the foundation didn’t have time to plan the in-person Jazz & Jeans event.
This year’s online auction opens at 8 a.m. March 27 and concludes at 9 p.m. April 2. To participate, register through the college website Jeffco.edu. Click on Giving, then click on Events.
Tilley said the community has responded favorably to the online auction over the past two years, and he hopes the support will continue in 2022.
“We’re hoping to raise $40,000,” he said. “Last year, the auction raised just under $40,000.”
Tilley said this year’s online auction will again offer numerous appealing items for prospective bidders.
“We have more than 100 items, which is about normal,” he said. “The welding department has donated a fire pit with Missouri sports teams logos on it.
"There are also tickets to a Brad Paisley concert April 23 at Chaifetz Arena.”
Yet another eye-catching auction item is a night out in southern Jefferson County, Tilley said.
“We have ‘Dinner and the Stars,” he said.
The prize includes a $100 certificate to Main & Mill and a private “Aim for the Stars” event at the college’s observatory on the Hillsboro campus.
Also, a raffle will be held for a quarter cow processed.
The online auction fundraiser is one of the foundation’s most important events each year, Tilley said.
“This is one of our two major fundraising events each year,” he said. “We also have our major golf tournament in the fall.”
Money raised by the foundation benefits Jefferson College students through scholarships, emergency grants, book store grants and other college funding requests, Tilley said.
For more information, call Tilley at 636-481-3104.