Auction

Back by popular demand, the silent auction returns in 2009 featuring fabulous items and unique experiences found nowhere else. Begin previewing these selected offerings and exclusive packages featured in the 2009 silent auction.

Touchdown for Kids in Need

Remember that classic parent line? You can be anything you set your mind to! While that’s true for most things, let’s face it: most of us will never be professional football players. But that shouldn’t stop you from dreaming. Come one step closer to being in the NFL with this authentic New York Giants jersey autographed by defensive end Osi Umenyiora. Throw it on and get ready to sack, tackle, and score your way to helping kids in need be anything they set their mind to!

*Compliments of DeBartolo Sports & Entertainment

 

French Flair and Breakfast for Two

There may be no Eiffel Tower, Mona Lisa or Arc de Triomphe, but tucked away in the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania is a place so Parisan you would never know you weren’t in France. Spend two nights in the Ritz-Paris inspired Chateau Lafayette at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa, where you can lounge at the Cigar Bar, dine at the AAA five-diamond restaurant Lautrec, and breathe in the French Flair.  Each morning wake up to a European-style breakfast for two. In the afternoon, enjoy a round of gold on Mystic Rock. Say bonjour to the vacation that will help get books to the children that need them most.

*Compliments of Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa

 

Sightseeing at its Finest

No need to bring your fanny pack, pop-up map, or oversized camera. Experience DC tourism at it’s finest with this four person tour package of the heart and brains of America.* This sightseeing adventure includes a V.I.P tour of the Capital Building and Kennedy Center, Senate Gallery passes, a Congressional tour of the Supreme Court, a tour of the Library of Congress, and reservations to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.  After your exclusive, sightseeing-packed days, savor a delightful meal in the Senator’s Only Dining Room.  So see DC the classy way, and help bring books to kids in need!

*Compliments of Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. and Senator Arlen Specter

*Please note that there will be two separate winners of this item. Each winner must be a Pennsylvania Resident to win this item.

 

His Airness

A basketball signed by the greatest NBA superstar of all time! Although, a summary of his basketball career and influence on the game inevitably fails to do it justice, as a phenomenal athlete with a unique combination of fundamental soundness, grace, speed, power, artistry, improvisational ability and an unquenchable competitive desire, Jordan single-handedly redefined his sport.  So throw on your Nikes, turn on ESPN, admire Air Jordan’s autograph and slam dunk for kids in need!

*Compliments of Stacy L. Robinson

 

 

Rocket Back to the 60’s

We know you don’t have a time machine, but you can still go back to 1960.  Throw on your tie-died t-shirt, peace necklace, and headband and rocket back to a world of counterculture, Bohemian life and everything 60’s with two tickets to Hair, the Tony award-winning, American Tribal Love-Rock Broadway musical.  Enjoy the “curly, shaggy, gleamy, streamy, wonderful world of Hair” from the reserved “producer seats” in the front-center Orchestra.  After the show, dance back out onto the city streets, readjust to 2009 and sing as loud as you want because you just helped get new books to kids!

*Compliments of Adam Sansiveri, Broadway Producer, Infinity Stages, LLC

 

Dinner – Philly Style

Philly Steak and Cheese Springrolls? Cutting-edge seafood? Unforgettable wine?  The Liberty Bell? Have all four with this $150 gift certificate to Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse, located in the trendy Rittenhouse Row and only minutes away from the Liberty Bell.  Our only advice: don’t miss a bite.  So dine, wine, leave room for dessert and help bring books to kids in need!

*Compliments of Ambassador David Girard-diCarlo (ret.)

 

 

 

Ba-da-da-dum *Snap* *Snap* . . .

What do 1940’s cartoons, a girl named Wednesday, and Tony-award winners Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth have in common?  Ba-da-da-dum *snap* *snap, The Addam’s Family Broadway Musical!  Experience the bizarre and devilishly delightful life of America’s most macabre family up close and personal with two tickets to the Addams Family musical.  So sit back in your front-center orchestra “producer seats,” and help bring books to kids!

*Compliments of Adam Sansiveri, Broadway Producer, Infinity Stages, LLC

 

 

Pulitzer Prize Winning Donuts?!

Superior Donuts! The  smash hit Broadway musical written by Tony and Pulitzer prize winning author, Tracy Letts!  Enjoy a night of laughter and engaging social commentary with two tickets to this comedy-drama about a decrepit, Chicago Donut shop where a friendship between the owner and his only employee, a young black man with dreams to improve the shop, exposes the “redemptive power of friendship.” Enjoy the show from your exclusive “producer seats” in the front-center orchestra. So get ready to warm your heart, laugh a little (or maybe a lot) and bring books to kids in need.

*Compliments of Adam Sansiveri, Broadway Producer, Infinity Stages, LLC

 

Crack the Race Case

Can you tell the difference between the truth and a lie?  Put on your Sherlock Holmes hat and test your detective skills with two tickets to Race, written and directed by Pulitzer Prize and Tony award winner David Mamet. Sit back in your exclusive center-orchestra “producer seats” and hang on for the daring, thrilling, unpredictable ride through a drama about lies, crime, race and mystery.  Let the facts lead your way and don’t be deceived.  Can’t crack the case? That’s okay, we can’t all be lawyers, but, hey, you still helped bring books to kids in need.

*Compliments of Adam Sansiveri, Broadway Producer, Infinity Stages, LLC

 

Relax and Un-wine with this Luxurious Weekend for Two

Pinot Noir? Chardonnay? The choice is yours. Spend a weekend nestled between the majestic mountains of the sleepy Napa Valley. This exclusive sun-kissed weekend for two includes a two-night stay at the historic Sutter Home Winery & Victorian Inn, a wine country breakfast prepared by the chefs of Sutter Home Inn, and a personal tour of the winery. So leave your worries behind you, get lost in a soothing sip of fine wine, and toast to literacy in the heart of Napa.

*Compliments of the Trinchero Family

 

 

 

The Algonquin Round Table Experience

Sick of dinner parties with the in-laws? We know. So spice up this holiday season with the most luxurious, lavish, and literary dinner party of a lifetime.  Held at the legendary Algonquin hotel in New York City, the dinner will include you, a guest, and the best and brightest minds of modern literature.  Enjoy fine wine, decadent food, and sparkling conversation with:*

Christopher Buckley
Roz Chast
Delia Ephron
Nora Ephron
Malcolm Gladwell
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Adam Gopnik
John Lithgow
Anna Deavere Smith
George Stephanopoulos
Ali Wentworth

Chat the night away and First Book, chosen as Neiman Marcus’ 2009 Signature Charity, will donate 10,000 books in your name to children in need. This is your opportunity to inspire the next generation of authors, journalists, and literary geniuses.

*Compliments of Neiman Marcus
*Final guest list may change

 

The Spectacular Basketball

This not your average, orange and black, bouncy basketball we are talking about here.  In fact, this basketball is so spectacular we don’t even recommend you dribble it. You wouldn’t want to risk smudging the autograph of the former center of the New York Knicks and current coach of the Orlando Magic, the one, the only . . . Patrick Ewing!  So put on your basketball shoes, dream big, and help put books directly in the hands of       children in need.  It’s a slam dunk all around.

*Compliments of Stacy L. Robinson

 

 

Flyers’ Finest

You miss 100% of the shots you never take. You also miss a lot of a hockey game when you watch it from those sky-high nosebleed seats. This time, leave your binoculars behind and don’t miss a shot as you watch the Philadelphia Flyers skate, check and score their way to victory.  This item offers a unique experience to host your family and friends in the Philadelphia Mayor’s suite at the Wachovia Center for a Philadelphia Flyer’s Game of your choice.*  The box includes 12 tickets. Sit back, hear the puck scrape the ice, and help get books to kids in need. It’s a hat-trick all around!

*Compliments of Mayor Michael A. Nutter

*Subject to availability

The Two-for-One Football

What’s better than one Philadelphia Eagle’s player? Two Philadelphia Eagle’s players !  Make your football-frenzied friends jealous with this fabulous football autographed by leading quarterback Donovan McNabb and wide receiver DeSean Jackson.  Show one autograph, flip it over and show the other one.  You might also want to mention how your two-for-one football helped get books to the kids that need them most.

*Compliments of Anonymous

 

 

 

Root for the Home Team

Get your peanuts and Cracker Jacks and get ready for the most amazing baseball game of your life.  Watch the Philadelphia Phillies take on the Pittsburgh Pirates from your very own luxury box at PNC park.  So root root root for your home team, keep your eye on the game, and take some time during the seventh inning stretch to think about how you helped get books to kids in need.

*Compliments of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl

Here We Go Steelers!

It’s better than a t-shirt, more stylish than a sweatshirt and cool er than being named AFC defensive player of the month.  It’s the Pittsburgh Steelers jersey autographed by two-time Super Bowl winning linebacker, James Harrison.  Throw it on, frame it, admire it.  We are pretty sure you might hear the crowd cheering “Here We Go Steelers!” in the background.  Best of all? You guessed it.  It’s the jersey that will help bring books to kids in need.

*Compliments of Constellation Energy