Hands were flying up all around the room bidding for three very special charity auction items at the RE/MAX Australia Annual Awards Gala last week, with an incredible $28,900 raised for RE/MAX Australia’s charity partner, Make-A-Wish® Australia.
The charity auction is a highlight of the evening which this year was held at The Star, Brisbane on February 20. Auctioneer Dene Tucker elevated the energy of the 600-plus guests in the room, and in live auction format, reached the largest donation figure for Make-A-Wish Australia from a RE/MAX Australia gala event.
The highlight of the auction was the very special, one-of-a-kind Queensland ‘REMAX’ number plates. The opportunity to bid on this unique item, exclusively available to broker owners, was generously donated by RE/MAX Australia Chairman Michael Davoren, and the bidding war sent figures soaring. With an incredible bid of $21,000, RE/MAX Platinum’s broker/owner Leanne Kroes was named the new owner of the number plates.
“I’m thrilled to have had the winning bid, and it makes it all the more special to receive them from Michael Davoren,” said Ms Kroes.
“We have always been big supporters of Makes-A-Wish, as well as many local charities, so to know that the money will be going to a young nine-year-old girl, especially as it is so close to us, is just amazing.”
All proceeds from the evening’s charity auction will go directly to supporting nine-year-old Scarlett who, at a young age, was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. Scarlett’s wish is to become a Zoo Keeper for a day at Australia Zoo, of which her mum shared she talks of often and is “super excited” for her wish to happen.
In response to the donation from the night, Scarlett’s mum shared: “That’s amazing! Congratulations on raising so much in just one evening! I’m so glad Scarlett’s story helped with the fundraising.”
Other auction items included a personalised fitting and bespoke pieces from Oscar Hunt, awarded to RE/MAX Living’s Kathy Sweeney with a winning bid of $1,900; and the always popular auction item, a hot air balloon package experience with included 12 balloon ride tickets in the RE/MAX balloon flying through the clouds over the Gold Coast, followed by a champagne breakfast at Harvest Restaurant at the Star Casino: the winning bid of $6,000 went to RE/MAX Aspire’s Jarryd Fisher.
RE/MAX Australia has partnered with Make-A-Wish Australia since 2012 and during that time has donated over $370,000 to help grant the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses.
RE/MAX Australia Managing Director Joel Davoren recognised the generosity of the network in supporting the important work Make-A-Wish Australia do within communities all over Australia, thanking the winning bidders for the generous donations in the auction.
“It is wonderful to see the generosity of the RE/MAX members and great to see that along with helping to grant Scarlett’s wish, they also go home with some incredible items,” he said.
