As many of my readers know, I am a Volunteer, Steering Committee Member and Community Liaison for the Kentucky Home Birth Coalition (KHBC). As a grassroots organization, KHBC works to increase birth options by lobbying for legislation that would provide Certified Professional Midwives (CPM) with state licensure. Having state licensure would open the door to more midwifery options in Kentucky and be a stepping stone to freestanding birth centers.

The #1 expense we have, is to pay for our legislative Doulas (lobbyists) who help us navigate the waters in Frankfort and are there on the ground regularly. In order to pay them (and cover additional costs) we need to raise $24,000+ dollars annually. Our most popular fundraiser is the online auction. We have 2 auctions that happen in the summer and fall. Although our fall auction is our largest auction, our summer auction is impressive with over 200 items!

Mary Duke, LCCE lobbying for SB134 at Frankfort, Kentucky.

I’ve won many items over the years, and they have all been useful and cherished by my family. We’ve gotten handmade toys, baby clothes, handmade blankets, gift certificates, wall art and so much more.

The summer auction is happening RIGHT NOW and I wanted to tell you all about it, so I reached out to one of the organizer Leacoln Bale to ask her if she'd mind to answer a few questions.

1) Of all the ways you can volunteer your time, why the KHBC auction?

The auction has been our most popular fundraiser and requires many, many helping hands. We have to solicit donations, volunteer to pick them up, have them photographed, upload them to the bidding site, advertise, then package and ship items out to the winners after the auction is over. It takes a lot of people to make this happen.

2) What do you think makes the auction so popular?

It's easily accessible to so many people. If you have access to the internet and a PayPal account or credit card, you can participate! We pride ourselves in making this a local Kentucky thing, but we have participants from all over the United States.

3) How much money has the auction raised in its existence?

According to volunteer Mary Kathryn DeLodder the auctions have raised a grand total surpassing $30,000! I know we have raised a little over $6k at our most successful auction. I think that was last fall.

4) Other than KHBC who does the auction benefit?

Immediately, the auction benefits the businesses that donate to it. We list the company that donated the item in information section of said item. We also do shoutouts on all of our social media to bring attention and recognition to the businesses or individuals who donate. They have given a piece of their business to us, so we try to give them as much recognition as possible. In the long run, the auction benefits the families of Kentucky, and our midwives. KHBC is using this money to continue the fight for birth options in Kentucky. Each year we are making huge strides in Frankfort, and it's because of fundraisers like the auction.

5) How can others get involved with future auctions?

We can always use help soliciting donations, especially outside of the big city areas (Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green). We want every part of Kentucky to be engaged in this! If you have a favorite business that you frequent, it never hurts to ask if they could return the favor by donating an item or certificate to the auction on your behalf. We take handmade and like new items as well. You could offer to collect donation items in your area and drive them to Louisville (or another area) to be listed. A great deal of auction work is done online. Listing and advertising donations are both things that can be done from home so long as you have a computer and internet access. I use my kids' nap time and bed time to make the auction graphics that KHBC posts to social media. Extra hands for packing and shipping items after the auction is over is always appreciated. If none of those options work for you right now, one super easy way to help is to share and interact with our posts on social media! This helps us to be seen and our message to spread in an organic way.