Auction raises money for Rockingham pregnancy center

Rockingham County resident donned black ties and blue jeans and headed to First Presbyterian Church in Eden for an auction dinner supporting the Rockingham Pregnancy Care Center.
Gail Evans-Jones, executive director of the center, said more than 400 people attended the 6th annual “Black Tie & Blue Jeans” event, which raised about $40,000 for the pregnancy care center. She said the money raised at the May 3 event will help the center continue to “invest in the lives of women and children.”
Larramie Lambert placed a bid for a Ladybug tote bag for her soon-to-be 3-year-old daughter. Lambert started visiting the pregnancy care center six or seven years ago, when she was having her first child. At the time, she and her husband didn’t have a lot of money.
“They gave us diapers and anything we needed,” said Lambert. “She (Evans-Jones) even let me wear clothes from the center.”
Most important, Lambert said, Evans-Jones was there to offer advice or just to listen when she needed a friend.
“I love Gail. She’s my saving grace,” Lambert said.
Linda Adkins, nighttime nurse in the Morehead Birthing Center, said the center refers a lot of new mothers to the pregnancy center.
“It helps the teenagers especially, to get parenting skills such as breastfeeding and car-seat safety,” she said. “They earn points and they can get things they need for the baby.”
Adkins and the Morehead Birthing Center staff were serving up “baby bites” at their food station. Decorations included a baby doll in a blanket and a clothesline with bibs and other baby-related items.
At Church Street Station, Heather and Caleb Wakefield dressed as train station engineers and served cornbread and pinto beans.
“We’re a small family mom and pop restaurant,” said Heather. “We serve a lot of home-cooked food.”
Other food choices at the auction dinner included a “garden spot” manned by First Presbyterian Church’s mission service and an old-fashioned ice-cream parlor by the youth of First Baptist Church.
Guests at the auction dinner bid on the more than 1,000 items in the silent and live auction. Amy Johnson placed a bid on an item at every table in the silent auction. She said the artwork, especially the pottery, was her favorite type of item in the silent auction.
Johnson came to the auction dinner decked out in a black evening gown with Dave Pierce, who chose the blue-jean route. Pierce enjoyed bidding on the clocks. At the “guys’ stuff” table, Jonathan Jobe was bidding on a set of baseball cards for her son, while Betty Matthews, a member of First Presbyterian, was bidding on items from Christmas lights to linens to porcelain rabbits.
Jesse Meeks sold everything from a Karastan rug and a decorative oval mirror to a six-month family membership to the Eden YMCA.
“It was very successful,” said Evans-Jones. “We just want to thank the community. It takes so many people to make something like this work.”
Staff Writer Miranda Baines can be reached at mbaines@reidsvillereview.com or 349-4331, ext. 35.