The November 18 Bainbridge Island Rowing Dream Big Auction saw some big dreams come true. The goal of the event was to raise money for the partly completed Stan Pocock Legacy Rowing Center in Waterfront Park, and the auction succeeded in spades, generating a whopping $153,000, more than any previous BIR auction. Not only is the BIR auction record broken; the amount also puts BIR over the halfway point toward the project’s estimated $2.94 million.
But that’s not all the good news. An anonymous donor who wants to propel BIR closer to the finish line has pledged a matching gift for all donations of $5,000 or more made between now and December 10. So if you couldn’t attend the auction you still have a chance to support construction of the center, and your support will be doubled.
In an email sent to the Bainbridge rowing community, BIR Board Co-Development chairs Wendy Dymoke and Jennifer Ames-Karreman praised auction Event Chair Kathleen Flood “and her stellar event committee for a record-breaking evening.”
The night of the auction, Masters Rower Bill Booth helped focus the audience on the fundraising goal: “We stand on shoulders of all those great coaches, all who worked as trustees, or volunteers, or parents—even grandparents—who sustained, and enriched, and believed in what rowing offers for all ages. This is their legacy.” In their email, Ames-Karreman and Dymoke added, “Your support of this exciting project—a home for BIR—will help us reach that goal and make that legacy a reality.”
At the event, Junior Coxswain Olivia Zachariah spoke about the Rowing Center: “I want to see a place where all teammates can hang out, get school work done, enjoy and build friendships. I want our boathouse to be a safe haven for us. A rower’s paradise. A place we call home. Please give generously and remember when you give, you are investing in a home away from home for all on the rowing team.” She added, “The expensive equipment we are lucky to have is in desperate need of shelter from the lovely PNW weather we are hammered with every single day.”
Want to double your giving power? Donate between now and December 10 to construction of the BIR Rowing Center.
Donate To Bainbridge Island Rowing
Read more about the Stan Pocock Legacy Rowing Center.
Read more about the BIR Auction.
Photo of BIR Board President Sue Entress at the auction by Sarah Lane.