Sedona AZ (September 23, 2016) – In a new initiative for environmental stewardship, Keep Sedona Beautiful will host its first-ever annual fundraiser for its Endowment Fund. The initiative includes both a special event and a ten-day online auction.
The event, called Star Gazers and Raisers, will take place on Sunday November 13 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Hilton Sedona Resort at Bell Rock.
Featured will be cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, an onsite silent auction from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., and a presentation at 4:30 p.m. by Ken Zoll, Executive Director of the Verde Valley Archaeology Center: “Ancient Astronomical Practices in the Southwest.”
Prior to the Hilton event, from November 3 until noon on November 12, the online portion of the silent auction will be open to bids and purchases. Bidders will be able to view auction items online, enter their bids, or choose the Buy It Now option, via home computers, smart phones and other devices. Items not immediately purchased will remain available at the onsite auction at the Hilton on the 13th. Photos and descriptions of over 100 items valued at over $35,000 are available at .
“We’re excited about this new bidding option,” said KSB President Joanne Kendrick. “It’s a way of responding to the greater range of people who’d like to participate, to contribute, but might not be able to get to the Village on November 13.”
Many programs supported by KSB for Sedona’s well-being will benefit from a strengthened endowment: sustaining the International Dark-Sky Community designations in Sedona and Big Park, presenting the annual Native Plant Workshop, hosting a monthly speaker series on Preserving the WonderTM, coordinating an ongoing volunteer group of over 120 “Litter Lifters” who clean over 68 miles of local roads, and conducting an Annual Awards program that highlights community members’ participation in the shared effort. Also significant has been KSB’s contribution to the Noise Abatement Committee, a group that joined with the City of Sedona to address noise from the airport.
All funds raised are destined to grow the Endowment Fund to ensure that KSB smoothly weathers any future economic downturns and remains self-sustaining. Founded in 1972 as an environmental stewardship group, the organization has previously operated on a year-to-year basis.
Tickets are $60 per person and can be purchased in advance at KeepSedonaBeautiful.org<http://www.keepsedonabeautiful.org/component/chronoforms5/?chronoform=Fundraiser_2016> or by calling the KSB office at 928.282.4938. Tickets may also be purchased at the door.