Date money benefits children in Caribbean

‘ ‘ ‘ Those who dream of a Latin lover should have been in the auditorium in David Lawrence… ‘ ‘ ‘ Those who dream of a Latin lover should have been in the auditorium in David Lawrence Hall on Friday. ‘ ‘ ‘ The Caribbean Latin American Student Association held its 12th annual Charity Date Auction, ‘Make That Eye Candy Your Candy,’ and it raised more than $1,500 for children in Haiti and Jamaica. ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt students Sheba Gittens and Gary Curtis hosted the event and made sure that audience members knew it focused on helping children. ‘ ‘ ‘ Minutes before the auction began, Curtis said, ‘It’s not about winning a date, it’s about raising money for the kids. Do it for the kids.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ The donations and profits from the auction will go to two charities. Fifty percent will go to St. Catherine Hall Primary School in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The Caribbean Latin American Student Association has been sponsoring this charity for more than 10 years. The money raised will be used to send school and medical supplies to the clinics in Jamaica. ‘ ‘ ‘ The other 50 percent will go to the Functional Literacy Ministry, a charity based in Pittsburgh that will use the money to help feed children in Haiti. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘A donation of just $5 feeds a child in Haiti one hot meal a day for 30 days,’ said Gittens numerous times throughout the auction. ‘ ‘ ‘ A video the Caribbean Latin American Student Association showed before the event reiterated the fact that 80 percent of Haiti’s population lives in extreme poverty. The meals provided through the donations are likely to be the only meals these children receive in a day. ‘ ‘ ‘ The actual auction had a very different tone from the movie. Complete with a disc jockey, a runway-style stage and a vibrant audience, the date auction followed a typical format. Bidders used paddles to show their interest for the men and women up for auction. ‘ ‘ ‘ Curtis and Gittens encouraged participants to raise their bids. The people who placed the highest 19 bids won not only their dates, but also a gift certificate. ‘ ‘ ‘ The men and women auctioned ranged from freshmen undergraduates to graduate students and majored in a variety subjects, from political science to biology. ‘ ‘ ‘ The group’s secretary, Samantha Swami, said she was very excited about the event’s turnout. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘With the profits from the auction along with [additional] donations, we raised around $1,570. This was a big improvement from last year when we made roughly $650,’ said Swami. ‘ ‘ ‘ She said that most dates sold for between $20 and $30, but the highest was $185. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Of course, none of this money comes back to [the Association], so we are just happy to have a good amount of money to give to each charity,’ said Swami.