By Justin Creech
Staff writer
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Military members in the National Capital region and the surrounding community can “Walk the Red Carpet” during the Belvoir Officers’ Spouses’ Club’s second annual Red Carpet Extravaganza Bid and Win dinner and auction at the Harbour View in Woodbridge, Va., Feb. 23.
Tickets are $50 and can be obtained at boscfundraiser@gmail.com. All of the auctions proceeds will benefit three charities of the club’s choosing, plus its scholarship fund.
“It’s one of our largest fundraisers of the year,” said Carla Olivo, BOSC fund raising chair. “We will hold a silent auction and a live auction. We expect to have more than 100 auction items this year.”
Auction items include an autographed Michael Morse Washington Nationals jersey, an autographed game puck by Washington Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner and an autographed photo of Washington Wizards guard, Jordan Crawford.
A round of golf for four at Burke Lake golf course and a getaway package at the Stonewall Resort in West Virginia are among the other auction items.
The BOSC chose the Center for American Military Music Opportunities, Hope for the Warriors, and Comfort for America’s Uniformed Services as the charities to receive the auction’s proceeds.
CAMMO helps wounded servicemembers reintegrate through therapeutic music programs. Hope for the Warriors recently helped veterans affected by Hurricane Sandy. CAUSE organizes programs that promote recreation and relaxation for wounded servicemembers who are recuperating.
With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder so prominent among current Soldiers, Olivo said the three charities objectives are why the BOSC selected them.
“That’s really what all three of these charities concentrate on, but they do it in different ways,” said Olivo. “They all support the Families, too, which is important because the Families make an adjustment also.”
The extravaganza is the night before the Academy Awards, a move Olivo admitted was made to entice more people to come.
“We thought it would be a fun theme for people to get dressed up and walk the red carpet coming into the event,” said Olivo. “We are hoping to boost attendance that way.”
Academy Award themed games will be available for people to play like a trivia game with questions about past Academy Award winning actors, actresses and movies. There will also be a game matching up famous quotes with the movie character that said them.
Part of the motivation behind the games is to give male spouses a fun activity to engage in while their wives bid on auction prizes.
“We found that a lot of times, the husband and wife will go, and the wife is all into the auction and the husband is just sitting there,” said Emmy Marchioni, BOSC vice president. “So, we wanted to find some alternate entertainment to make the husbands feel a part of the event.”
Olivo said the BOSC is hoping to improve upon last year’s attendance mark of just under 90 people. Olivo wants more than 100 people this year, and eventually greater than 200 as the event gains notoriety.
“These events take time to get on people’s calendars,” said Olivo. “We got a lot of complimentary comments last year on the event. People enjoyed the bidding process, the auctioneer and the entertainment. We are hoping to slowly build an audience year after year.”
