By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

The children of Cody and Shaina Schafer of rural Tampa made items that were sold Saturday at the 20th Holy Family Parish charity auction at Pilsen.

“There are no words to describe the tear-filled feeling I get every year when my children desire to donate,” Shaina said. “They always come up with a new idea, something to create from scratch.”

This year, son Canon with the help of his father made a cow board out of barn wood. He learned how to measure, cut, nail, and paint.

His sister made K-State sugar cookies sold in a K-State cookie jar offered by a friend.

“Sage’s favorite is making sugar cookies with Granny (Marissa Makovec) because she loves rolling the dough out and using cookie cutters along with learning to measure, mix, and set a timer,” Shaina said.

Other children made items that auction patrons purchased.

An auction that started in the basement of St. John Nepomucene Catholic Church in Pilsen with a couple of tables of donated items was expanded several years ago to the old school gym in Pilsen. The $2,000 raised the first year has grown to $20,000 or more the past few years.

This year’s auction netted more than $23,000. Sixty-two items were sold live and more than 200 items were sold in a silent auction.

“We had a great crowd with some new faces,” Sam Oborny said. “It was a good time.”

All proceeds will go to help needy individuals and families in Marion County.