Rainbow of Hope event makes its bid to aid children in need
Over the years Rainbow of Hope’s benefit auction has grown from a $20,000 endeavor to pushing the $1 million mark. Its history of helping families who have children with medical issues has blessed many.
Can you put a price tag on helping children?
If you can, then Rainbow of Hope Foundation will submit a bid of $1.3 million.
That is the amount of money RoH invested in providing finances to families whose children are facing medical needs over the past year.
This year’s benefit auction at the Mt. Hope Event Center will take place July 21-22, where a massive auction, plenty of food and more will greet the patrons who show up to support the RoH Foundation.
Longtime RoH board member Henry Hershberger has been part of the foundation since its inception, and he said when it comes to giving with a purpose, people are quite willing to open their checkbooks, wallets and pocketbooks to lend a hand.
The RoH story began in 1985 when Hershberger’s daughter was born prematurely with cerebral palsy. She spent two months at Akron Children’s Hospital, and during that time the seeds were planted for RoH when the Hershbergers received an incredible bounty of giving.
“There was no such thing as RoH at that time or any foundation like it, so we talked about it and discussed the idea with John Miller, Jr. and Elton Nisley, and we wanted to start a foundation dedicated to helping families with children facing medical bills,” Hershberger said. “I had seen the effect that giving like that did for our family, and we wanted to help other families carry the load.”
It took time to put the foundation in place, but in 1987 the inaugural RoH took place in Mt. Hope. The effort raised $20,000, but that was enough to carry it to next year, where they doubled their amount.
“It seems as though in those early years we doubled what we raised every year as it started to catch on,” Hershberger said. “We kind of went from being in the dark to not quite so dark, and we kept learning. Never in our wildest dreams did we ever think it would get this big.”
Last year’s auction brought in more than $800,000, which added to the balance and helped generate the ability to dole out $1.3 million last year.
The first order of business in starting a new organization was finding the right name. Because the foundation was created for children, it seemed appropriate to have a child name it, and they went to the kids of Baltic and Ragersville schools. The committee created a contest and had the kids submit entries with names and pictures. The winning submission was a picture of a man, woman and child standing under a rainbow, and that winning submission has stood the test of time.
“That young boy won a $50 savings bond, and that became our logo,” Hershberger said.
In those early years, the board members did all of the legwork. They set up the auction details, going throughout the community to raise capital and auction items. Today there is a core group specifically created to canvas the community to gather up donations for the auction.
“Those first couple of years, myself and one other guy would spend a couple of weeks on the road going around getting donations,” Hershberger said. “Then later we would spend more time picking items up. Having this crew do that now is a huge plus.”
The annual auctioneer’s contest on Friday evening allows blossoming, young auctioneers to get up front and auction items. Having a trio of professionals judging them and rattling off their cadence in front of a huge crowd can be intimidating but fun.
On Friday evening, July 21, there will be a fish fry, barbecued chicken, a bake sale and more. In addition, Friday evening will include speaker Kerry Max Cook, a man who was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1977. Cook was slated for death row until new evidence exonerated him. Rather than becoming bitter, he went on a crusade to help others, his faith becoming a big part of history.
“What an inspirational story,” Hershberger said of Cook, who spent more than two decades in prison before his release.
Saturday will bring the auction. However, before the bidding starts, the public is invited to partake in a full-course breakfast beginning at 6 a.m. The auction will begin at 8:30 a.m., with the furniture and quilt auction at 9 a.m. In a separate ring at 9 a.m., there will be a miscellaneous items auction. At 10 a.m. the livestock sale will begin with dairy heifers, sheep and more. At noon the specialty items will roll across the stage with a Studebaker Jr. wagon, RoH commemorative items and more. The lawn furniture sale will start at 1 p.m.
It all adds up to a two-day event that blesses both the families who receive and those who give to the cause.
“We’ve been so blessed with the support of so many since we first started,” Hershberger said. “This effort isn’t just one or two people; it’s a community that has come together to support these children and their families. We had some negative people when we first started who said we’d never make it, but God’s hand and people’s hearts are working together to create something special that has touched the lives of many hurting families. It’s a special feeling to be part of investing in other people’s lives and to see God’s hand at work.”