The Wakefield Sons & Daughters of Italy Auction was a Sold-Out Success

We had a fantastic time hosting while our guests enjoyed eating, bidding and winning at our recent Charity Auction. This event has become so popular with members, friends and the public, that this year we sold out St. Joseph’s parish hall!

The main purposes of our Lodge are socializing, celebrating our Italian heritage and being charitable in the community. We give from our own resources – both time and money/goods. But for awarding scholarships, we need help from the community. Our Charity Auction was a fun, social evening which brought together donations from lodge members and area businesses. We were able to raise over $13,000 for scholarships and our other charitable endeavors.

We are so appreciative of the items donated from our generous businesses in Wakefield and surrounding towns. We want to thank food service businesses including Alchemy Bar and Kitchen of Lynnfield, Anthony’s Coal Fire Pizza, Bunratty Tavern, Cal’s Creamery, Christophers, Calareso’s Farm Stand & Garden Center, Fat Larry’s Sandwich and Ice Cream Shop, DiCara’s Deli, Professor’s Market, and The Chocolate Truffle of Reading; Public Kitchen of Reading and Wakefield; Caffé Italia, Cravings, The Farmland, Laurie’s 9:09, and North Ave Diner of Wakefield; Dom’s Sausage of Malden, Fabrizia Lemon Baking Company of Salem, NH, Total Wine and More of Burlington, Pastene of Canton, Pepperidge Farm Prop, and Winfrey’s of Stoneham.

Thanks also go to the Greater Boston Stage Company of Stoneham, Hanover Theater of Worcester, and North Shore Music Theatre of Beverly for event tickets. Sports tickets were donated by Moriarty & Associates (Red Sox) and the New England Revolution of Foxboro.

We appreciate retailers such as Keith’s Forestry Supplies and Repairs, Mary Kay Consultant Cheryl Carroll, Hart’s Ace Hardware, The T-Stop and Prime Gas Station of Wakefield and Mariela’s Mexico who donated items and/or gift cards.

Many service providers generously donated gift cards or products such as Dye by Debra Hair Salon, Impress Graphics and YMCA Metro North, of Woburn, Impress Nails of Saugus, Nude Esthetics of Danvers, Lorenzo’s Dog Training, Simply You Salon of Middleton, Mel and Sons Oil, The T Stop, the Wakefield Bowladrome, MG Fitness, Simplified by Eileen, Unique Spa & Salon of Wakefield, Tramontozzi Law of Melrose, and Meraki Medical Esthetics of Reading. The auction also included items from Catherine Grassello Photography of Wakefield, Chef Mary Ann Esposito, A Balanced Self Wellness Shop, Colonial Cadillac and Steven Lewis.

Although a committee of a dozen members coordinated the event, each Lodge member was vital to its success. Individuals donated one or more raffle items, assembled themed gift baskets, requested donations from favorite local establishments and businesses, invited friends and family to attend, shopped for supplies, helped with parking (thank you North Shore Pool and Spa,) greeted guests, sold 50/50 tickets, served the meal, monitored the silent auction, baked desserts, set up, cleaned up, tracked and collected bids. For the second year, we had our vivacious auctioneer, Toni Encarnaceo running the live bidding portion. Special thanks go out to Fr. Ron of St. Joseph’s parish for use of their hall.

The Lodge uses its charity fund for the Wakefield Food Pantry, Wakefield and Stoneham Senior Centers, Boys & Girls Club of Wakefield and Stoneham, Alzheimer’s research, Foster Kids of Merrimack Valley, Cooley’s Anemia Foundation, and The Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism. The Lodge gives scholarships every year to high school seniors of Italian descent, as well. This year’s scholarship winners are Jillian Spinali, Anna Lucarini, Aiden Laurendeau and Olivia Johnson.

If you want more information or would like to join the Lodge, contact President Paula Sasso at [email protected] with questions or attend a meeting to see what we are all about. Be sure to follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wakefieldOSIA.