The 24th annual on-air auction for 630 CHED Santas Anonymous brought in a record-breaking $35,950 for the charity on Friday.
Listeners called in through the day to bid on eight packages that raised a total of $23,550, as well as two Ryan Smyth signed chairs from the Northlands Coliseum. Each chair brought in $6,200 for Santas.
“That was really exciting for us, to get those chairs from Northlands,” Santas executive director Lana Nordlund said. “Everyone loves Ryan Smyth, so we really appreciate that he wanted to be involved in this year’s auction.”
The packages ranged from sports tickets, to theatre tickets, to a weekend getaway.
“The generosity shown by 630 CHED listeners this year was amazing,” Nordlund said.
“This money is going to be able to help us buy books and toys to make sure that every child gets a present this Christmas morning.”
It wasn’t only a record-breaking total, one package received a record-breaking bid. The dinner with Ryan Jespersen, prepared by Brad Smoliak with wine provided by Color De Vino, raised $12,000.
All of the money raised at this year’s auction goes to support Santas and its effort to bring Christmas to every child in Edmonton.
This year the charity will provide Christmas gifts to over 25,000 Edmonton kids.
“Right now we still need toys for kids aged 0-2 years. Toys that don’t need batteries and can provide hours of playtime are really great for that age group,” Nordlund said. “Gifts for the older kids, the 9-12 year olds, are always needed as well. Board games, Lego, crafts and science kits are great gifts for that older group.”
Donations can be dropped off across the city, including at 630 CHED at 5204 84 Street and at Santas depot at 12122 68 Street.
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