The Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS) last Thursday night raised over $6,000 in support of the Somerville Homeless Coalition (SHC) at the annual Faculty-Waits-On-You Dinner and Auction at 51 Winthrop St.
All proceeds from this year's Mardi Gras-themed "Beads and Bids" function went directly to the SHC, continuing a longstanding event tradition.
The annual event, now in its 26th year, has since its establishment raised over $60,000 in an effort to increase awareness about the problem of homelessness in the Somerville community. Last year's event raised approximately $4,500.
Executive Director of the SHC Mark Alston-Follansbee expressed his gratitude for the funds that the event has raised over the years.
"We need community support, but we also need money and it's great that we've been able to work with the LCS to have this event to help us," Alston-Follansbee said. "When we started we only had two staff members and just a bunch of volunteers, mostly Tufts students, so we've had a wonderful relationship with Tufts since our inception."
The fundraiser started with a dinner where faculty and staff members waited on attendees. A live auction followed, and students were offered the chance to bid on items such as restaurant gift certificates and larger-scale items such as Red Sox tickets. All items were donated by local businesses.
Faculty members also offered various services in the auction, including lunch with University President Lawrence Bacow, an evening of bowling with professors from the psychology department and an affordable Kaplan test prep course.
The $10 tickets for the dinner and auction were completely sold out, and the event boasted a large turnout of 180 students, according to senior Nicole Cherng, the event's organizer.
Alston-Follansbee was pleased at the event's success and increased attendance.
"It looks like there are almost twice as many people at the event this year," he said. "Thanks really goes out to [former co-presidents] Nicole and Fred [Huang] for their organization and publicity of this event."
University Chaplain David O'Leary said he has been volunteering to wait on tables at the annual fundraiser for about seven years and also highlighted the night's turnout. "I think we're going to set all sorts of records with the number of people here today," he said.
Both students and faculty said they enjoyed the event. Associate Professor of Biology Philip Starks said it was his first time at the event, but indicated that it would not be his last.
"A lot of the other faculty members here have been coming for years and I see why," Starks said. "It's a lot of fun. I'm always the teacher, so it's nice turning the tables for once and taking care of them."
Students and faculty found the event's Mardi Gras theme entertaining. Decorations around the hall and the accessories and colorful hats worn by the faculty servers contributed to the atmosphere.
Students in attendance said that they had fun and appreciated being able to speak to some of their professors in passing as they were serving tables.
"It's nice to see professors in an environment other than the classroom," sophomore Amber Jackson, a first-time attendee, said. "This auction is a really great idea, and they're giving away really cool things. This event was definitely worth coming to."
The night of dining and bidding was exciting for many. "This is definitely a good time for groups to get together and support the community and their faculty," said sophomore Nunu Luo.
Other faculty who served at the event include Robyn Gittleman, director of the Experimental College, Lee Minardi, senior lecturer of civil and environmental engineering and Doug Matson, associate professor of mechanical engineering.
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This article originally incorrectly stated that the dinner rased $5,400 as opposed to $4,500. This mistake was corrected on March 9, 2010.
