Honors Program auction benefits charity, singles

The University Honors Program's date auction will begin bidding on Thursday at 7 p.m. in The Guerry Center Flag room, according to Rishi Mistry, a Knoxville senior and president of the Honors Program council.The annual event, in which members of the Honors Program auction off date packages to raise money for charity, has become a successful campus tradition after ten years of successful bidding.

Mistry said, "We tend to shy away from the larger and more visible charities out there. In the past we have focused our attention on smaller charities like The Chattanooga Food Bank, The Chattanooga Community Area Kitchen, and Stanley Hopkins hospital."

Mistry said this year's designated charity will be The Chattanooga Family Housing and Learning Center.

Mistry said, "We have already been to visit the learning center, bought furniture and spent time paining, but this year they really need money for mattresses, new carpet, and new furniture."

According to Mistry, this year's effort focuses on maintaining the lives the charity has set up for families involved in the past.

Mistry said, "Many of the families aided by the charity are fairly large, so the homes deal with the wear that comes with having six children."

Mistry said this years event, titled "America We're Beautiful" will charge an admission price of two canned food items at the door to aid the Chattanooga Food bank, which is currently experiencing a one million pound deficit.

LaShunda Hill, a Chattanooga senior and member of the University Honors Program, said she is looking forward to attending the date auction on Thursday.

"I think it is a creative way to raise money for a good cause," Hill said. "I am proud that the Honors Program does it every year. It is an opportunity to have fun, win prizes, and raise money for charity.