God's Portion Day to have different look this year

BY CHUCK VANDENBERG
PCC EDITOR

FORT MADISON - God's Portion Day for Holy Trinity Catholic will have a different look again this year.

In 2020, the GPD was impacted heavily by the pandemic and the platform shifted to an online auction, but Chad Ward, one of this year's event co-chairmen said the event was as successful as it could be in 2020.

This year, with the pandemic still hovering in the area, Ward said the event will be held on Saturday live at the Shottenkirk Gymnasium.

This year's events will start at 4 p.m., however, and run until approximately 9 p.m. There will be an auction viewing at the High School from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 22. Interested bidders will have an opportunity to submit a presale bid on items of their choice.

On Saturday, Oct. 23, the day starts at 4 p.m. with a Happy Hour and Sonny's Supermarket grilling on the sidewalk with a menu being offered. The annual Grow-An-Acre Grain Sale with the live auction will follow.

The $10,000 Cash raffle and Something for Everyone Raffle are back this year with tickets being sold this Wednesday, Oct. 20 at the Knights of Columbus during the weekly chicken dinner. Tickets can also be acquired by emailing HTCGPD2600@GMAIL.COM. Tickets are $1 for $20 or 6 for $100.

An electric bike is this year's prize for the hat raffle. Twelve hats will be available for purchase with the winner getting the new bike.

"We probably need someone to hold up items. In the past, we'd write the auction item on a poster board, but we're hoping we can do something where the items are on a big screen tv to make it a bit more digital," Ward said.

The God's Portion Day committee is also sponsoring the Alumni Challenge. All alumni of St. John's, St. James, St. Joseph's, St. Mary's Catholic Central, Aquinas, Marquette, and Holy Trinity Catholic to give back $1 for every year that's passed since the alumni's graduation date.

Each year the class that generates the most money is listed on a plaque that stays in the foyer of Holy Trinity Jr./Sr. High School. The challenge ends at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Checks should be made payable to Holy Trinity Catholic Schools-GPD 2021, and sent to 413 Avenue C, P.O. Box 39, West Point, Iowa. Questions can be directed to Cathy Wilkens at 319-470-0871 or Shelly Pieper at 319-371-6131.

The event is the largest fundraiser of the year for the Catholic school system.

Anyone wishing to donate items to the fundraiser still has until Wednesday evening to contact a committee member through the email address above.