eBay serves up just desserts for Food Bank
Posted Mar 5, 2010 By Phil Ambroziak
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Tweet ThisEMC Events - Musical merchandise is on the menu at the Ottawa Food Bank.
In an effort to drum up funds, the food bank recently turned to the online auction site eBay where it is selling a series of autographed plates signed by renowned recording artist Feist and members of the Sam Roberts Band respectively. The items were initially listed on eBay Feb. 26 and the auctions will close March 4.
"The auctions sort of came about because of a fundraising event we do each year with the Ottawa Guild of Potters known as Great Bowls of Fire," explained Chris Cline, communications and events coordinator with the Ottawa Food Bank.
Great Bowls of Fire, which takes place on March 6 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Glebe Community Centre, invites restaurants from across the city to provide soup for a fundraiser dinner that sees guests receive a hearty meal along with their very own bowl created by a guild member.
"This is sort of part of that event," Cline continued. "Organizers of the event went out of their way to have Feist and the Sam Roberts Band sign these plates for the auction. Something like this has never been done at the Food Bank since I began here, which was close to three years ago. It is a first as far as I know - it definitely sounds unique."
The Feist plates were crafted by Debra Ducharme of Ottawa while the Sam Roberts Band plates were made by Anne Chambers of Perth.
Leslie Feist is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She performs as a solo artist under the name Feist and as a member of the independent rock group Broken Social Scene. At the 2008 Juno Awards in Calgary, she was the top winner with five awards including Songwriter of the Year, Artist of the Year, Pop Album of the Year, Album of the Year and Single of the Year.
Sam Roberts is a Juno Award winning Canadian rock singer-songwriter whose 2001 debut release, The Inhuman Condition, became one of the bestselling independent releases in Quebec and Canadian music history. As of 2008, the Sam Roberts Band consisted of: Sam Roberts (lead singer, guitar), Dave Nugent (lead guitar), Eric Fares (keyboard, guitar), James Hall (bass) and Josh Trager (drums).
"I'm absolutely optimistic that these auctions will be successful," Cline said. "By using eBay, we have an opportunity to reach are larger audience and actually reach out to fans of the musicians."
While the Ottawa Food Bank is equipped to provide its service to 43,000 people per month in the National Capital Region, Cline stated there is an ongoing need to keep both food and financial contributions coming in.
"It is a problem that is definitely not going away," he said. "Originally, the food bank was supposed to be a temporary service, but we're now in our 25th year. It is important that the people who need our service have proper access to it."
Cline went on to note that, when times are tough, people are more likely to pay their rent and utility bills before buying food. He also stated that, although plenty of donations came in during the holiday season, a need always arises come this time of year.
"Late February to early March is a tougher time for us because the food bank is not at the forefront of most peoples' minds," he said. "We make due with what we get at Christmastime and persevere throughout the spring."
As for the eBay auctions, Cline expressed his gratitude to the musicians and organizers who helped make the initial fundraising idea a reality.
"We're very happy to have the support of Feist and the Sam Roberts Band," he said.
He also expressed how fortunate it is that Ottawa events such as Bluesfest (where the Sam Roberts Band autographs were obtained) and the National Arts Centre (where Feist provided her signature).
"It is great that we are able to rely on their support," he said.
For more information, visit theottawafoodbank.ca or ottawaguildofpotters.ca.
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