Press release

September 12, 2012 – Everything is in high gear for this year’s “Raise Your Hand” dinner and auction on Saturday, September 29th to benefit WNCAP, the Western North Carolina AIDS Project. The iconic event, now in its 24th year, hopes to generate $100,000 to meet the need for HIV / AIDS prevention, education and case management services for individuals living with the virus throughout the 18 counties of Western North Carolina.

This year’s auction will be held at the Doubletree Hotel at Biltmore featuring exemplary art from WNC artisans, vacation packages, antiquities, fine wines, catered dinners in your home and many more surprises. Mitchell Lonas from Blue Spiral gallery was selected by a distinguished panel of jurors to be this year’s Signature Piece winner for his incised painted aluminum ethereal image of a floating feather entitled “Aflight”. In addition, a two week stay in an Italian villa will be one of many highlights of this year’s treasures up for bids. Well-known auctioneer Andrew Brunk of Brunk Auctions is sure to energize the crowd with his enthusiasm and auctioning expertise to help raise the bar on bidding for this second largest fundraiser for WNCAP.

This year WNCAP will recognize Mark Goldberg, President and CEO of PLI, LLP in Asheville as the Honorary Chair for the auction. In addition to growing a thriving business as the largest manufacturer of key cards in the world, Mark is well known for his kind spirit and generosity throughout WNC. Mr. Goldberg and PLI have given time and resources to a variety of organizations including the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, Asheville Arts Council, Asheville Community Theatre, The Jewish Community Center, Eblen Foundation and the Jewish Film Festival to name a few. Mark and PLI have steadfastly supported WNCAP events including Raise Your Hand, Dining Out for Life, and World AIDS Day activities for over a decade.

From Shelby to Asheville and all the way to the western edge of the state, WNCAP strives to keep up with the demand for HIV prevention programming, offers case management and care coordination services for those living with HIV/AIDS, and provides food delivery to homebound clients. Jeff Bachar, Executive Director of WNCAP, says "We are in the process of expanding our free, confidential HIV testing program, increasing our range of case management services and strengthening our outreach to vulnerable populations. The funds from the Raise Your Hand Auction will support these initiatives and improve the lives of current clients while helping to prevent new cases of HIV infection.”

“Thanks to the generosity of many contributors, our donations are exceptional this year with over 250 items up for auction,” says Pam Siekman, Chairperson for the Raise Your Hand Auction. We are returning to the Doubletree for a third year and are very excited about the masterful menu and special wines that will greet each guest. The Raise Your Hand auction is always a fun night, a great time to catch up with friends, an opportunity to learn more about WNCAP, and a chance to make a donation and take home a treasure or two.”

Tickets for this event are on sale now at http://www.wncap.org/ryh for $125.00 per person. No seats will be available at the door, as we expect a sellout crowd well ahead of the auction based on advance sales. If you are unable to attend you may make a financial donation to support WNCAP by visiting the organization's website at http://www.wncap.org. For more information, call 828-252-7489 and "like" WNCAP on Facebook.