Rainbow of Hope Foundation Benefit Auction
All proceeds from the Rainbow of Hope event will be used to pay medical expenses for the children (under the age of 18) of families in need in Holmes, Coshocton, Wayne and Tuscarawas counties.
Henry Hershberger said he’ll never forget how his community supported him and his wife, Malinda, after the birth of their premature, two-pound, 12-ounce daughter, Miriam, 35 years ago.
“Our baby was at Akron Children’s Hospital for two months after she was born,” Hershberger recalled. “We got help from the community to pay our bills.”
His original desire to “return the favor” to the community has grown into an annual auction that raises close to a half million dollars each year, and has drawn attendees from states as far away as Texas, Oklahoma and Georgia.
This month, the 34th Annual Rainbow of Hope Foundation Benefit Auction will take place on Friday and Saturday, July 24-25, at the Mt. Hope Auction Grounds, in Mt. Hope. All proceeds from the event will be used to pay medical expenses for the children of families in need in Holmes, Coshocton, Wayne and Tuscarawas counties.
The auction will feature thousands of items, from furniture to livestock to smaller items like crafts and garden tools.
This year’s guest speaker will be Grant Bontrager, a Kansas resident who was conceived by the rape of his disabled mother 28 years ago. Bontrager will share his inspiring story about overcoming adversity through this faith in God.
“Grant’s mother was in a state hospital with severe cerebral palsy and functioning at the level of a three-month-old when she was raped by a hospital employee,” said Raymond Miller, chairman of the non-profit Rainbow of Hope Foundation. “State officials wanted to abort the pregnancy, but Grant’s grandparents refused, and he was then raised by his mother’s sister and her husband. He is now sharing the story about the struggles and problems he experienced in life, with a message that you can overcome anything if you have God on your side.”
Bontrager’s talk, on Friday evening at 7:30 p.m., will follow dinner and an amateur auctioneer contest that will feature around 20 contestants.
“It’s a lot of fun to watch the amateurs step up to the plate and auction off real items to the crowd,” Hershberger said. “It gets pretty hilarious. Some of them are really good.”
Friday’s program will start at 4:00 p.m. with a fish fry and barbecue dinner. The auctioneer’s contest is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m.
“There will be a volleyball tournament for the youth,” Miller said. “We usually have about 30 teams and 14 nets.”
A full course breakfast, starting at 6:00 a.m., will kick off Saturday’s event, with the auction starting at 8:30 a.m.
“We’ll have two different auction rings going throughout the day — one for smaller items and the main auction ring for your large items, like furniture, quilts, lawn furniture and buggies and horses,” Miller said. “We also have a livestock auction that includes dairy heifers, sheep and other animals.”
Hershberger said four Angus beef will be auctioned and processed to the buyer’s specifications.
Every item in the auction is donated, Miller emphasized.
“Even the meals that we serve are donated,” he said. “We have literally hundreds of volunteers that make this event happen by working on the day of the event as well as planning, coordinating and soliciting items before the auction. Nobody makes any money, including the auctioneers. One hundred percent of the proceeds go directly to help pay the medical bills of children. It is a beautiful thing.”
Rainbow of Hope provides funding to cover medical expenses for children under the age of 18. Funding for some chronic conditions is extended until the age of 21.
“People who need assistance can submit an application,” Hershberger said. “A lot of them are people without insurance, or for some we pay the deductible. It’s based on need.”
The foundation’s first auction, he recalled, raised $23,000. The following year, $32,000 was raised. That number doubled in the third year. Recent auctions have netted between $400,000 and $500,000, Miller said.
“We get a lot of good support from our local community,” he said. “It is a community of giving and we couldn’t do this without everybody’s help.”
You can learn more about the Rainbow of Hope Foundation Benefit Auction at RainbowOfHopeFoundation.org, or by calling the foundation, at 330-674-5062. The Mt. Hope Auction Grounds is located at 8076 SR 241, in Mt. Hope.
This year’s guest speaker will be Grant Bontrager, a Kansas resident who was conceived by the rape of his disabled mother 28 years ago. Bontrager will share his inspiring story about overcoming adversity through this faith in God.