Successful Student Auction Raises $5,000

Westmont students organized a silent auction that raised more than $5,000 for after-school programs for low-income Santa Barbara youngsters. The money from Auction for Eastside Alternatives goes to the Montecito family YMCA, whose territory includes the Lower Eastside.

Specifically, the money is expected to fund scholarships for 15 kids to attend a sports skills camp at Franklin Elementary School and another five scholarships for five kids from the lower Eastside to go to a summer camp at Lake Sequoia near Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.

“The students enjoyed the chance to create something,” says Carter Crockett, assistant professor of economics and business. “In the past, we’ve funded existing programs, but this was something which needed to be addressed, and it’s rewarding to create something from scratch.”

Officials from Kids Club and the YMCA spoke at the auction held at Chase Palm Park.

“We got to hear what they want to do, their aspirations,” Crockett says. The students were able to plan an event that put people and causes together that wouldn’t have met otherwise. It was a crowning moment.”