"Where will Open Arms be this time?" Auction news!

Things just keep moving along at Open Arms this summer. It's hard for me to believe August is well underway and fall is coming. This year has been a busy one for us!

This week most of our staff was attending the 16th Annual DONA Conference in Albuquerque- reports back have been very positive. I've heard rumors that there are pictures and hopefully someone who went will send them to me and I'll post them!

But on to the news you've been waiting for ... the auction committee has also been working very hard on planning a great event for late fall. We'll have registration information for you soon, but our 3rd Annual Short & Sweet Auction, to be held Tuesday, November 30 in the evening, is going to live up to its name - it is less than two hours long, and it's sure to be sweeter than ever!

As you may remember, every year Open Arms finds someplace fun and exciting to hold our auction with an emphasis on neighborhood and community. We were at Tougo Coffee in the Central District in 2008 for our inaugural auction. In 2009, we wowed our guests with glass-blowing demonstrations at glassybaby's hot shop in Madrona.

And this year.... drumroll please... We're delighted to announce the 2010 auction location: Theo Chocolate in Fremont!

And yes, there will be chocolate samples and a tour of the chocolate factory! Who can resist?

In all seriousness, this auction is an essential way for Open Arms to raise funds toward the core program in our agency, Birth Doula Services, and we really hope you'll come and support us - bring your friends too, and get your holiday shopping done in one lovely evening. If you can't make it, we'll gratefully accept separate donations. Just specify "auction donation" and we'll take care of the rest.

The auction will have many interesting items (and as soon as I am given the go-ahead, I'll tell you about some of them), ideal for gift-giving or family fun, with an emphasis on community and local products and services. We think you'll love it! More details will be on this blog, on the Open Arms website, on our Facebook page and on Twitter soon.

Oh, and are you getting our electronic newsletter? We hope so, but if not, we'd love for you to join our mailing list! We promise we don't share our email list with anyone, and you can get off at any time.