Auction on a 'mission'

The volunteer organization Alpha Phi Omega, and the Dakota Venture Group will be hosting a silent auction for the Northland Rescue Mission taking place outside Loading Dock with the Nightlife's Battle of the Bands competition playing inside the Loading Dock tonight starting at 9 p.m.

Alpha Phi Omega, also known as APO, is a service fraternity open to both men and women who are interested in volunteering in the local community as part of a group. Rachel Manley, a senior majoring in Psychology and member of APO, said that the reason APO paired up with the Dakota Venture Group stemmed from a speech given by the Dakota Venture Group's president, Preston Page, a student in his fourth year of college, majoring in entrepreneurship. The Dakota Venture Group is an entirely student-run private equity investment group that focuses on helping companies start-up for a share in ownership.

Page gave a speech on volunteering and talked to Manley about how he and some members of his group would be interested in volunteering at the Northlands Rescue Mission, a place where APO serves lunch every other Sunday. Page, Lee Groeschl and another member of the Dakota Venture Group joined Manley and APO one Sunday and it raised quite a few questions within the group.

"You'd be surprised how much of an impact can be made with [their limited budget]," Page said. He and Manley bounced ideas off of one another and decided that a "food drive and silent auction would be a simple way to help raise funds."

Manley said that the silent auction will consist of "over sixty-five donated items worth [an estimated] thousands of dollars." Also, any non-perishable items, especially in bulk, pillows and backpacks would be appreciated donations.

"The Mission will have a booth with more information for people looking for information," Manley said. Page added that the Mission is "always looking for more volunteers."

Persons bidding on items must be present to win and prepared to pay for the item with either cash or check.