Toledo’s most eligible to be auctioned off May 24
Written by Brian Bohnert | | bbohnert@toledofreepress.comIn an effort to raise money for a local children’s charity, the crew from “Andrew Z in the Morning” will be hosting Toledo’s Most Eligible Bachelor and Bachelorette Date Auction on May 24.
The event will take place at 7 p.m. at The Blarney Bullpen on Monroe Street with a dessert buffet. The auction will start at 8. Nine local singles [four guys and five girls] will be auctioned off to help raise funds for Elias Adin’s Comforting Hearts Inc., a local charity organization dedicated to bringing comfort to children suffering with cancer. Admission to the event is $10 and the fund-raising goal is set at $7,000.
Kele Pallitta, founder of Comforting Hearts, said all bachelors and bachelorettes come with a full, already paid date that has been donated. Some of the dates include: Toledo Mud Hens tickets, tennis lessons, wine tasting, a dinner at Bar 145, and a dinner Table 44.
Of the nine bachelors and bachelorettes, there will be two University of Toledo football players, a local singer and even “Andrew Z in the Morning’s” own musician and radio personality, Calen Savidge. Photos of all nine participants can be viewed at the event’s Facebook page, Pallitta said.
The night’s highest bidder will receive the first place date prize: a pair of Jason Aldean concert tickets with meet-and-greet passes, and a makeup package from AnVa Salon and Spa. The second-highest bid will receive Toby Keith tickets, and a manicure and a pedicure treatment from AnVa as well, she said.
Toledo's Most Eligible Bachelor and Bachelorette Date Auction will be held May 24.
While the event is primarily for Toledo-area singles, Pallitta said any couples that want to come have fun and donate can bid for top prizes.
“It’s not only a date auction,” Pallitta said. “We’ll also be auctioning off Brad Paisley, Rodney Adkins and Miranda Lambert concert tickets for any married couples that want to come.”
Pallitta said she and her family officially started the charity six months ago, but have been planning the organization since 2008 when she lost her 7-month-old son to a brain tumor.
Comforting Hearts sends care packages to children and their families in the oncology departments at local hospitals. Inside the bags are things like snacks, stuffed animals, crayons and paper, and fun activities to help make the lives of the children easier, she said.
“We try to keep their lives as normal as possible and we try to take their minds off of their treatment,” Pallitta said.
Since the charity began, Pallitta said they have sent 77 packages to children at Toledo Children’s Hospital, Mercy Children’s Hospital and Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus. By the end of the summer, Pallitta said she hopes to have Comforting Hearts sending packages to families in North Carolina through a partnership with one of their sponsors.
“We’ve been in contact with Cancer Connection of NW Ohio and they’ve expanded down there as well,” she said. “There are a lot of children’s hospitals down there.”
While the charity has never had an event like this one before, Comforting Hearts hosted its first event on April 1: an April Fool’s Day Obstacle Course 5K.
“It was like a mini-Warrior Dash out at Maumee Bay State Park,” she said. “It was great. We had over 120 runners and that was good because our only advertising was on Facebook.”
For the future, Comforting Hearts is working on starting a scholarship fund for local medical students going into oncology programs. Pallitta said she hopes to have the first scholarship ready by the next school year.
The date auction is sponsored by Commodore Way in Perrysburg and Cancer Connection of NW Ohio.
For more information on Comforting Hearts and the date auction event, visit the charity’s website at www.comfort-hearts.com.
Tags: Brian Bohnert, Elias Adin’s Comforting Hearts Inc., Fundraiser, Kele Pallitta, Toledo’s Most Eligible Bachelor and Bachelorette Date Auction, “Andrew Z in the Morning”
