Tickets Available for Manchester PTA Beach-Themed Gift Auction

As temperatures rise and thoughts turn to summer, the Manchester Township Parent Teacher Association will welcome the season with their beach-themed Gift Auction later this month.

The auction, now in its 16th year, will celebrate “Jersey Shore Beaches” when it is held on Thursday, March 31, at the Woodlake Country Club in Lakewood.

“We are hoping to meet the monetary needs that our budget requires to give the kids the programs that we bring to the schools each year -- the scholarship programs, the Dare program, 'Stand by Me Day' in the middle school and the high school’s Brain Show," said PTA auction chairperson Cheri Brister.

Tickets cost $35 and can be purchased by downloading the PTA Gift Auction ticket form from the PTA’s website. The ticket sale closes at the end of the day on March 21.

Tickets include admission, choice of dinner and dessert. Ticket bundles are also available for pre-sale for $40 and include 3 sheets for the “Small Gift Table," 20 tickets for the “Theme Basket Table” and 10 tickets for the “Deluxe Prize Table."

This year, the ticket prices have been lowered as an “incentive for people, although we have faithfully filled our gift auction with 325-plus guests over the years in spite of the economy,” said PTA President Sheryl Claus.

The auction is the PTA’s main fundraising event and usually brings in about $16,000 profit for the school district, Claus said .

“All our monies are dedicated to informing, supporting and providing a multitude of information and events [to students and parents]," Claus said.

To incorporate the “Jersey Shore Beaches” theme, all of the staff will be wearing beach attire. Instead of the usual numbered tables from previous auctions, the table will be named after local beaches such as Long Beach Island, Ocean Grove and Avalon. 

“We will be giving away beach-y prizes and hopefully everyone will wear their flip-flops. We also have a special beach drink because we really want it to feel like summer,” Brister said.

There will be various gifts auctioned off, including amusement and water park tickets for kids, bedding sets, household appliances, Broadway tickets and gift certificates for local restaurants, and an Apple iPad.