From Friday, April 28, through Sunday, April 30, you can bid on a variety of unique items while raising funds to support Manheim Central students. The 20th annual MCFEE 4 Kids Auction will be hosted online by the Manheim Central Foundation for Educational Enrichment.

"We will have over 200 items to bid on," said Amy Howett, executive director of MCFEE. "We have gift cards to restaurants, breweries, kids' events and outings, kayaking, ice cream and so much more. We are focusing on Manheim establishments, as well as places all throughout Lancaster County. We have tickets for experiences, including a Fulton Theatre and Belvedere Inn dinner package. We have a Barnstormers package for 10 with a catered meal."

One of the highlights of this year's auction will be artwork created by 15 Manheim Central sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students who participated in a class called Kind heARTs. They collaborated on drawings, paintings, collages and soft sculptures, and seven of their pieces will be auctioned off.

"This year we have also brought back our exciting premier packages, which are larger packages to bid on," Howett explained. "We have a Phillies Extravaganza package, which includes tickets to a game and a Visa gift card. We have an outdoor pizza oven, which was donated by the PTO. We have a Summer Fun Brumate package. We have three brand-new Lancaster County handmade Amish quilts. We have a Solo Stove Ranger package."

Howett emphasized that the event would not be possible without a variety of sponsors. Sponsors include Manheim Pennsylvania Auto Auction, Ruhl Insurance, Longenecker's True Value, Buch Funeral Home, DDMP Investment Advisors, Rohrer's Inc., Lancaster Toyota Mazda, Lancaster Nissan and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

All proceeds from the auction will fund teacher and student grants. "Last year, we funded 27 grants at over $100,000," Howett said. Projects included a new advanced broadcasting studio in the high school, virtual field trips, a pollinator garden at the middle school, Junior Achievement programs for students throughout the district and ukuleles for elementary school students. The theater program, Baron Stage, was able to purchase all new sound and microphone equipment, and funds from the auction also provided mobile podcasting stations for the district.

Howett emphasized that MCFEE works hard to provide funding for projects at every grade level so that the majority of students can benefit from the funding.

She also noted that the virtual online auction is user-friendly, and anyone can easily bid from anywhere. Winning bidders may pick up their items at the Manheim Farm Show building off Adele Avenue in Manheim during the week following the auction. For more information on the auction, visit https://mcfee4kids.org. Once the auction goes live on April 28, visit http://www.bidpal.net/mcfee4kids to participate.