By Jack Brittle, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
On September 14, the Joseph Brant Hospital Auxiliary will host their 26th Annual Antique and Collectible Auction and Marketplace at St. Christopher’s Anglican Church, in support of the Joseph Brant Hospital.
It will also be the Auxiliary’s final auction due to a lack of new volunteers and changing styles, according to Pat Vollick, chair of the auction committee.
Vollick recounted how the first auction in 1998 went.
“We advertised it and the community responded,” Vollick said. “We had many nice items for what we called the Antique and Collectible Auction. We raised well over $30,000 the first time we had a sale.”
For the last five years, the group has also hosted a “marketplace” where potential buyers can peruse items that they can purchase without participating in the auction.
Vollick said that the Auxiliary has raised well over a million dollars for the hospital since its inception.
Starting a few years ago, the Auxiliary started hosting a second auction in spring, alongside the usual one in the fall.
Vollick said that the money raised from the auction goes to the hospital, specifically to help them purchase any needed equipment. The proceeds of this year’s auction will go towards a new CT scanner for the hospital.
Anything that is considered antique or collectible is eligible to be sold at the auction, including furniture, lamps, jewellery, paintings, and toys. Once items are donated, they are appraised and placed in a catalogue for potential buyers at the event.
Auction times are also listed in the catalogue so that customers are able to leave and come back when the item that they are interested in goes up for sale.
Vollick said that the auction has gained a significant amount of notoriety among collectors, and that many people travel from outside of Burlington to participate in it.
She spoke about the difficulties in passing the torch to younger, less experienced volunteers.
“We’ve been doing it for so long, and we know how it needs to be done in order to raise the most amount of money,” Vollick said. “Volunteering these days isn’t the same as it used to be.”
“I think some younger people are really into antiques and for others, it’s not on their radar at all,” she continued.
Vollick also said that many of the members of the Auxiliary who have been running the auction for years are getting older and find it difficult to do some of the things they did when they were younger.
“Some of our people have passed on and others of us are 80 and up,” she said. “And, you know, you just don’t do the same things as you do when you’re 60 or 55.”
Vollick also said that the Auxiliary relies on help from Burlington firefighters to do much of the heavy lifting involved in the transportation of items for the auction.
Volunteers will also visit the houses of those who call into the Auxiliary saying that they have items that could be sold at the auction. The volunteers will also pack the items up and transport them to a storage facility.
Vollick said the Auxiliary usually prioritizes what the Joseph Brant Foundation indicates that the hospital needs.
Vollick also spoke about why many people choose to volunteer to help out the hospital.
“People would like to give back to their community,” Vollick said. “That’s usually the reason they come or it’s because they’ve had a person in their family or someone they know that has been in the hospital. And they talk about the care and the kindness that was there. They feel like they want to become a volunteer and give back in any way that they can. We see that on a daily basis.”
Vollick also talked about her own personal desire to volunteer.
“[I have] a deep desire to make a positive impact in our community, and because whatever you give, you get back in more ways then you realize,” Vollick said.
The 26th and final Annual Antique and Collectible Auction and Marketplace will take place on Sat., Sept. 14 at St. Christopher’s Anglican Church (662 Guelph Line); the preview and marketplace will open at 8:30 a.m., while the auction starts at 10:30 a.m.
