"BIDS 4 KIDS" 2007 BRINGS MUCH NEEDED FUNDS AND ATTENTION TO CLO AND SERVICES FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM!


"Bids 4 Kids", a popular fundraising event, organized annually by the Leawood Rotary Club took place on Saturday, September 29th at Ritz Charles in Overland Park, Kansas. This year Community Living Opportunities was honored to be designated as the senior beneficiary of this wonderful fundraiser. Each year Bids 4 Kids raises support for two local charities that provide services to children. CLO's Early Childhood Autism Program (ECAP) was the secondary beneficiary in 2006, receiving 30% of the proceeds from the auction. This year, as a senior beneficiary ECAP's services received 60% of the funds. The 2007 secondary beneficiary is St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf - Kansas City.
In addition to the Early Behavioral Intervention and Inclusion Program for young children aged 2-6, the Early Childhood Autism Program services include a positive behavioral support program for school-aged children, supportive home services, in-home consultation and teaching, case management, and school consultation. It also serves as a training site for teachers and therapists-in-training.
The event included dinner, entertainment and an auction. Over a thousand raffle tickets were sold for the opportunity to win a large screen Sony high definition LCD TV. The silent auction, included a large variety of rare valuable items and continued throughout the evening. At the end, nothing was left on the auction tables as most of the attendees left carrying vintage wines, prized artwork or signed memorabilia.
The event generated enormous interest as hundreds of attendees arrived at the glitzy venue, filling the main ballroom to capacity. The event was perfectly organized through the coordinated efforts of the Leawood Rotary Club and many wonderful volunteers from CLO, The St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf and the two corporate sponsors: BKD and National Bank of Kansas City
The event also provided a great opportunity for socializing and networking between professionals from the business and non-profit community. The excellent jazz ensemble of JCCC provided the event with the perfect ambiance and highly enjoyable entertainment.
There was also a gourmet dinner and an emotional multimedia presentation, courtesy of Ritz Charles
"Bids for Kids" 2007 was emceed by the popular Fox 4 TV anchor, Paul Herdtner who delighted the crowd with his engaging presence, great stories and wit. Trip Frizzel, president of CLO board of directors, introduced the agency and described the importance of ECAP services and the impact they've had on the life of his own son.
Dr. Michael Strouse, CLO executive director drew the winning raffle ticket for the big screen TV.

The Live auction was the highlight of the evening as attendees bid enthusiastically on items such as "Montana Chalet Cabin Experience", "Las Vegas Gateaway" and "Golf 'Till You Drop"
Among the more interesting auctioned items was an american flag flown over the US Capitol in Washington DC



Bids for Kids 2007 was an enormous success and CLO expects the fundraiser to have a significant impact on children with autism served by ECAP.
Thank you Leawood rotarians , National Bank of Kansas City , BKD and all of our friends and sponsors for making this event possible and supporting children with Autism!
To find out about last year's event go here