Novi Oaks Charter Chapter raises $13,000 for Scholarships and Education for Women!

Our 17th Annual Autumn Brunch With Auction, was held on Saturday, October 1, 2022, at the Burton Manor in Livonia! Their beautiful ballroom is twice as large as our previous locations. The doors opened at 10:00 a.m. with the bidding beginning and coffee and Mimosas flowing!

With 240 items on the Silent Auction and 20 prime items on the Live Auction, our 133 attendees were able to get some serious holiday shopping accomplished - at great bargains.

This year, we brought back the “Buy It Now” option, and 22 attendees took us up on that offer to just pay 1.5 times the retail value and be done with bidding. As always, the bidding was very swift, and many people got great deals. Bill Joyner served as our auctioneer and he and Holly Hengstebeck kept us going on the Live Auction. Several items created real bidding wars - especially the signed Lion's football and the beautifully framed "Last game at Joe Louis Arena and Tiger Stadium!

We are so grateful for all of the people who worked to make this event a success. We were able to raise just over $13,000 for scholarships and education with the continued generosity and support of area business people, our members, family, co-workers, and friends. Thank you to everyone who helped us!

We raised just over $13,000 for scholarships and education!

Proceeds will be used to fund the $1,000 Bettie Archer Johnson Scholarship at Madonna University and to fund scholarships and grants through the ABWA Stephen Bufton Memorial Educational Fund (SBMEF). Novi Oaks also offers a Business Skills Tuition Reimbursement program for non-college training and provides funds for members to attend regional and national ABWA conferences.

At our 2022 auction, as always, our members and guest hostesses created fantastic table decorations, which added to the fun for this morning event (see pictures below). Each table is hosted by a friend or member in a theme of her choice. Seeing the decorations is half the fun!

Anyone interested in applying for our $2,000 Impact Scholarships and the $2,000 Outright Grant should contact our Education Chair at NoviOaks.edu@gmail.com. The deadline for applications for the 2023 program is May 15, 2023, including three letters of reference from employers and/or instructors. The application process will be open by December 15, 2022. Female U.S. citizens, full-time residents of Michigan, maintaining a 3.0 GPA, attending any university conferring a bachelor degree or higher are eligible to apply. The scholarships and grant checks will be awarded in June and July 2023, made payable to the individual and the college or university. Visit our scholarships and education page to download guidelines.

We are already planning our 2023 auction - location and date to be determined. We look forward to the next event, and we hope you will join us. Business sponsors of this event are always appreciated!

Our best to you in the coming year!

Our members at the 2022 auction.

The creativity comes out when the tables get decorated!

SO many great items up for bid! The event is truly a wonderful way to spend half a Saturday with friends, bidding on great gifts (head start on the holidays) and raising scholarships for women. Please plan to join us in late September 2023!