Reina P. Cunningham
Staff Writer
Several hundred people showed up for the charity auction held by Bennett’s Fork Baptist Church at the Middlesboro Community Center on Saturday. The auction was held to raise money for Pastor Bill Poore’s mounting medical expenses as he battles MDS.
Upon arrival, auction goers could enter numerous raffles at the registration table.
For a $1 donation, one had choice at being entered to win a variety of prizes ranging from dinners at local restaurants to a large gift basket full of children’s summer toys.
The event started with a silent auction. Those in attendance were able to bid on gift baskets full of books, hair supplies and baby items along with gift certificates from local vendors.
In conjunction with the silent auction, a cake walk took place.
Preston Zachary, of Middlesboro, was the youngest and arguably luckiest participant in the cake walk. Zachary drew his own number in the first round of the cake walk and walked away with his choice out of dozens of cakes. After taking a break from the games, Zachary came back to win again.
After the cake walk was over, Poore showed up at the event to express his appreciation to the church and community that has showed so much support for him and his family during this difficult time.
After Poore spoke to the crowd, the live auction began. Members of the audience bid on furniture, antiques and jewelry that had been donated by local businesses.
Pastor Bill Poore has been fighting MDS for the past three years.
MDS was once commonly known as pre-leukemia because the disease usually turns into Myelogenous Leukemia.
For the past several years, Poore has been taking treatments at the Baker Cancer Center in Harrogate, Tenn.
In between his treatments at the Baker Cancer Center, Poore has numerous doctor visits and hospital stays.
Through this week, Poore had received over 160 blood transfusions during his bout with the disease. Due to the severity of his illness, this number increases on a weekly basis.
With medical bills and out-of-pocket expenses quickly adding up, members of Poore’s church decided to organize an auction to help him pay the medical expenses.
Aside from the charity auction, Medic Blood Drives have been scheduled to help Poore with the cost of his numerous transfusions.
These Medic Blood Drives are referred to as replacement blood drives. For every unit of blood donated in Poore’s name, Medic will replace it with a full unit of blood for Poore.
The first blood drive was held on April 8, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., at Middlesboro ARH Hospital.
The next blood drive is scheduled for April 16, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., at Big Lots in Middlesboro.
Reach Reina P. Cunningham at 606-248-1010, ext. 205, rpcunningham@civitasmedia.com.
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