Health Services Foundation Executive Director Elizabeth Dulin, left, looks over the Thompson rifle that will be auctioned off Saturday for the Foundation’s annual charity event. With Dulin is Scott Allen, plant manager for Smith & Wesson.
A number of high profile items will be up for grabs this weekend as the Health Services Foundation hosts its second annual charity auction Saturday starting at 5 p.m. inside Yorks of Houlton’s showroom.
Under the theme of “Maine Meets International and Visits the Past,” many of the auction items feature work from Maine and international artists.
On Monday, Health Services Foundation acquired a Thompson Center Arms Pro-Hunter Magnum Muzzleloader rifle with a camouflage handle from Smith & Wesson valued at $1,500.
“It is our hope that those who truly appreciate a Thompson rifle will come to the auction see it, bid on it and support the foundations in its ongoing efforts to assist our health care providers with the best possible options for their patients,” said Elizabeth Dulin, executive director for the foundation. “More than 100 items will present a variety of listings in each category providing bidders a very interesting selection to choose from.”
The auction also features a 2012 Polaris ATV, donated by Gemma Bartley, valued at $7,699. This fiscal year the Foundation is “Looking toward the future by fundraising today for excellence in health care tomorrow,” according to Dulin. “Recent campaigns have seen the Foundation grant to Houlton Regional, and other area non-profit healthcare providers, over $1 million in funding for nuclear medicine equipment, capital project for radiology expansion, digital mammography equipment as well as additional
hospital and health care provider requests.
“The challenge now is to be prepared for the health care challenges of tomorrow,” Dulin said. “Rapidly rising health care costs along with delayed reimbursement levels have made it extremely difficult for hospitals and health centers to keep up and provide for equipment/services that are so vital to their patients. Big foundations always get a lot of attention for all the good work they do, but across this country small foundations, like ours, keep hospitals and health centers alive and well, and that says a lot for those of us who continue to strive, on a daily basis, to make sure that support never stops.”
The Foundation has been fund-raising for Houlton Regional Hospital and other health care providers since 1983 and those efforts have seen positive results in equipment, educational programs, and capital needs assisted to the best of its financial ability.
A listing of current auction items can be found at www.healthservicesfoundation.org or for more information regarding this event, call the office at 521-2503. The event will also feature catering by Joyce Transue, owner of the Courtyard Café in Houlton.
