Art Auction Raises Funds For Animals

Church has never been so expensive. This past Saturday, April 29th, Oberlin Aid to Strays in distress (OASIS) held an art auction in Christ Episcopal Church on South Main Street in order to raise money for their dog shelter. OASIS, a non-profit volunteer organization, worked with Oberlin Stray Rescue (ORS), a group of Oberlin College students who run an ExCo and rescue stray cats in town. The proceeds were divided 75percent/25%percentbetween the two groups, who worked hard together for their cause.

"It was a high energy group and they got the job done," said Vera Opel, the director of OASIS. "It takes a lot of people to put on an art auction, a lot of man-power." The auction, which lasted almost four hours, raised more money than was expected, though there was no exact monetary goal. "You never know exactly how much you will make," said Ope., She said she is "always too nervous to watch," and thus sat in the kitchen most of the night, which was bountifully stocked with wine, punch, cookies and cheese and crackers, all donated by OASIS volunteer Jonie Marra.

Opel had little to worry about. The proceeds amounted to about $4,000. The proceeds ($3,000 for OASIS) will go toward the maintenance of the shelter, including veterinarian care and dog food expenses. The OASIS organization was started by an Oberlin sophomore named Shari Kalina in 1991. When she left in '93, Opel assumed the director position. "When no one wanted the job, I took over," she said, laughing.

Marra, who worked with Oberlin students in preparation for the auction, welcomed the audience and gave an overview of the history of OASIS and its main objectives. The organization has a "no killing" policy because, as Marra explained, "we would rather have more dogs and put them in better homes than have a revolving door to get rid of them."

A thousand dollars went toward Oberlin Stray Rescue, which will be used mostly for the medical expenses of caring for the cats they find around Oberlin. Every cat is spayed before being placed in a foster home for adoption. "We try to have at least one ORS officer who lives in an apartment at any point," said Elisabeth Kidder, a sophomore. She also reported that graduating students often adopt a cat to take with them at the end of the school year, "as Oberlin memorabilia, I guess." The group usually has anywhere from one to about 10 cats, largely depending on the time of year. "Spring is kitten season, so we are more busy right now," Kidder explained.

OSR plans to put some of the funds raised on Saturday towards starting a newsletter in the fall to educate students about spaying their cats. They advertise the cats available for adoption on their own website, www.oberlin.edu/~osr, in addition to selling t-shirts in order to raise more money. Due to a policy designed to give more support to groups working directly for the benefit of Oberlin students, the Student Finance Committee cut the funds given to OSR. "We have been scrambling for the last few years," Kidder said. "We don't have a choice about how much money we spend - it's not like we can just say, ok, this cat can't have a rabies shot, so everybody is gonna get rabies!"

Azalea Fine Art Fundraising Auctions supplied auctioneer Bob Romeo, who was everything one could want from an auctioneer-fast-talking and comedic. "It was really fun to work with him," Kidder said.

Romeo coached art lovers playfully, asking all the "auction virgins" to raise their hands...and keep them there all night! Each attendant received several cards upon arrival, and placed a card on whichever painting they wanted the opportunity to bid on. Romeo joked that the first set would take "about six hours." The paintings and photographs ranged in price from about $35 to $5,000.