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Community, Fellowship, and Fun at the HPA’s Annual Auction
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On Saturday evening, November 8, members of the Hopkins community, including staff, faculty, and parents, gathered on the Hill for the Annual Hopkins Parent Association (HPA) Auction. With the theme of “Home on the Hill,” the event was a successful and joyous night, achieving its goals of both fundraising and community building.
On Saturday evening, November 8, members of the Hopkins community, including staff, faculty, and parents, gathered on the Hill for the Annual Hopkins Parent Association (HPA) Auction. With the theme of “Home on the Hill,” the event was a successful and joyous night, achieving its goals of both fundraising and community building.
The aim of this year's auction was to provide attendees options to bid on one-of-a-kind experiences in addition to physical items. While classic bid items like wine-bottle pulls and gift baskets were available, the auction also featured unique excursions such as an authentic Austrian dinner party at the home of Samantha Whitney and Wilhelm Schlag P’27, a VIP Gallery Tour and Cocktails in Tribeca with Art Journalist Jacoba Urist ’94, and a luxury bourbon tasting experience with Sarah and Suresh Rajan P’28, ’31, among many others.
For the first time in the Auction’s history, entertainment from Illusionist Ryan Oakes delighted guests as he moved about the crowd with jokes and sleight of hand magic.
According to Hopkins Director of Constituent Relations Lauren Reichart P '27, '29, a key objective of this year’s auction was to regenerate excitement and "buzz" within the parent community in the post-COVID era. “The energy in the room was really high. People were eager to lean in, participate, and be a part of this awesome community of parents.”
Spearheaded by HPA chairs Ashley Pressler P'22, '24, '26, Elisa Billings P'25, '27, and Samantha Whitney P'27, the event exceeded its attendance goal of 200, ultimately selling 217 tickets, with a cohort participating from afar via a virtual bidding option.
The Auction raised over $90,000 to support all aspects of Hopkins and its programs. Some of the funds will be used to create a dedicated space on campus for faculty to gather, collaborate, and unwind. Rounding out the festivities was a video presentation introducing the cohort of new staff and faculty this year premiered at the event.
Whether they donated items, helped set up the event, or were simply there in the room celebrating, a large group of parents dedicated themselves to the event's success.
“The Auction was a fun place to be, which was our goal,” said Reichart.
Hopkins is a private middle school and high school for grades 7-12. Located on a campus overlooking New Haven, CT, the School takes pride in its intellectually curious students as well as its dedicated faculty and staff.
Hopkins School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.