Love INC held its annual dinner auction at Gateway Community Church in Merced on the evening of March 22 in support of its mission to mobilize the local church to transform lives and communities in the name of Christ.
As the event began, Hub Walsh, Board Vice President, introduced Pastor Al Schaap of Gateway Community Church, who gave the invocation.
“This is one of my favorite things to see — people from so many churches, one heart . . . helping people in the community,” Pastor Schaap said.
As guests milled around the hall, chatting and browsing at tables laden with scrumptious desserts and other items, Walsh described the evening’s raffles and auctions (live, silent and dessert) which were available for guests to participate in. An example of a live auction item was a 7-day Kauai Beach condo stay for up to six adults, which brought in $2,200.
The auctioneer for the event was Garrett Jones, and the Auction Assistant was James Buttrey.
After a social hour, guests dined buffet style, enjoying a meal of green salad, green beans, au gratin potatoes, tri tip, and rolls.
The theme of the fundraiser was Hidden Treasures.
Annette Macias, Love INC’s Executive Director, spoke to the guests about the journey to find hidden treasure that they were embarking on during the evening.
Sharing an anecdote, she said, “For centuries, men have searched for lost or buried treasure. Some of the world’s greatest lost treasures are still waiting to be found. Oftentimes, treasure can be hidden. A Filipino fisherman made an amazing discovery off the coast in the Philippines. He dove into the water and discovered a two-foot long pearl inside a clam. He took it home and hid it under his bed, keeping it as a good luck charm for 10 years. Recently, his tiny home burned down, but the75 lb. pearl survived. He’d almost forgotten everything about the pearl until he was searching for what was left after the fire when he suddenly remembered he had something under his bed. A relative persuaded him to display the pearl instead of hiding it. Upon displaying it, a gemologist discovered it to be the world’s largest pearl, worth $100 million! Just like that pearl that was hidden under the bed, our Love INC families have hidden treasure inside of them waiting to be discovered.”
Macias explained, “We want to bring out the hidden treasure in our Love, INC families — their hope — because they live in poverty.”
Could hidden treasure be found among the 916 adults and 1,560 children whose needs Love INC met during the past year through one or more services?
Macias described treasure in the form of hope within Kenna Hendrix, a Love Plus graduate who had struggled with addiction but was determined to get her 10-year-old daughter back, who had been removed from her care.
Macias said, “At her graduation, through tears, she said, ‘I have been here for two years, and I have finally found a family.’”
Macias continued, “One week later, we heard that Kenna died of pneumonia. The news saddened us, but we were also grateful that the Love INC family, participants and mentors loved Kenna and were a part of her journey the last four months of her life.”
Macias also described the treasure of mentoring, and the treasure of volunteering.
She said, “Each Fall, we offer our Love Plus life skills, education and mentoring program. It teaches money management, goal setting, health, nutrition and how to build healthy relationships. We were able to train 24 new mentors and graduated eight participants. One of the best things about the program is we match our participants up with a mentor one-on-one, and oftentimes the relationship continues on past the program.”
Macias honored a special participant/mentor team — Gloria and Kathy — who became best friends. They were asked to stand and be recognized.
Macias described Mary Kay Mancebo as a wonderful example of living a life of service. Mancebo was a Love INC volunteer for 12 years and passed away just this year.
A video clip Macias played told the story of Susan Buttrey, a phone volunteer in the Love INC clearinghouse who initiated a jacket drive for impoverished children in 2008.
In the video, Buttrey explained it wasn’t just jackets she was giving; it was hope and love.
She said, “It was making the connection with people in our community that God uses people to touch lives.”
Lastly, Macias described the concept of redemptive compassion.
She said, “We at Love INC embrace the model of redemptive compassion. It calls for us to help in ways that improve a life, and not sustain a lifestyle of need. It is help that frees. Our desire is to help each person achieve their God-given potential.”
Addressing the guests, she said, “There is treasure in each one of you. God has given you gifts to share.”
In conclusion, she asked the guests to pray for God to help the Love INC staff and volunteers to walk alongside the members of the Love INC families and discover the hidden treasure inside each one.