Annual Student Auction Makes Bid to Fight Homelessness

Part of Proceeds from UMSOM Class of 2020 Student Auction to Benefit Back on My Feet, Baltimore

“It’s definitely a team effort,” says Sara S. Manetta, Class of 2020 MD candidate at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM). “We’re all hands on deck all of the time!” Manetta is speaking about the flurry of activity surrounding preparations for the Annual Second Year Medical Student Auction, which will be held Thursday, February 22, 2018, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at the Southern Management Corporation (SMC) Campus Center, 621 W. Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. This event is open to parents, students, faculty, and staff.

Begun in 2006, this year’s auction is organized by the Class of 2020’s Class Council. Funds raised will benefit class activities, with a portion of the proceeds supporting a local charity selected by members of the class. “Based upon a class poll, our overwhelming choice was Back on My Feet, Baltimore,” says Manetta. “A number of our classmates have personal ties to that organization through volunteer work, so it was by far the popular preference.”

Back on My Feet, Baltimore is the local chapter of a local organization that seeks to “combat homelessness by promoting confidence and self-esteem through running, while providing community support, educational opportunities, vocational training, and housing resources.” The organization notes that every $1 invested in Back on My Feet returns nearly $2.50 to the local community through increased economic output from employment and reduction in costs for shelter, medical services, incarceration and addiction treatment.

With the auction’s date just weeks away, Manetta says that her fellow second-year students actively are reaching out to family, friends, faculty, and local businesses for donations of items that will be used at the event’s live and silent auctions. The Class Council also has created a website (https://sites.google.com/view/class-of-2020-annual-auction/home) where auction items are listed, and interested donors can sign up to contribute auction items or make charitable monetary gifts. "We're definitely still looking for donations," states Manetta. "The more support we receive, the better. we want raise as much money as we can for Back on My Feet, Baltimore."

Donna L. Parker, M.D., Associate Professor in the UMSOM Department of Medicine and Associate Dean for Student Affairs, believes that the annual auction clearly supports the school’s overall commitment to community engagement. “The second-year medical student auction has grown in both scope and attendance from its small beginnings,” she notes. “It always is wonderful to see students, residents, faculty, family and friends perusing items during the evening of the auction, socializing and ultimately bidding with the goal of raising money for the class and most importantly, the chosen local charity of the class.”

For questions about the 2018 Annual Second Year Medical Student Auction or how to make a donation, please contact the Class of 2020 Class Council at som2020classcouncil@gmail.com