Kayla Petterson was 鈥渁mazed鈥� with the generous support from the community for a recent Facebook auction for Mason Wigley.聽
A little more than $40,000 was raised for Wigley and his fight against lymphoma during the auction, which ran for 48 hours from March 30-April 1. More than 1,700 people were part of the Facebook group auction page, and they had 204 items to bid on.聽
鈥淚 was amazed at the generosity of the community,鈥� said Petterson, who organized the Facebook auction alongside Chris Jones. Both are close to the Wigley family.
鈥淚t was way more successful than I could have ever imagined it to be.鈥澛�
Since it was a Facebook auction with all donated items, the organizers didn鈥檛 have any expenses, so all the money raised will be directed towards the Wigley family.聽
鈥淗e has a long road ahead, and I think that every little bit helps, and it鈥檚 grown 鈥� to where I don鈥檛 think he鈥檒l have to worry financially for a little while. He鈥檒l just have to focus on healing and getting better.鈥� 聽
Petterson said she thought they would be lucky to get 100 items.聽
The variety of items helped make for a successful auction. There was something for everyone, she said, with food, agricultural items, housewares, blankets, outdoor merchandise and more.聽
People were very generous, contributing high-quality items that attracted the attention of the public, so there was something that appealed to everyone. 聽
鈥淚t really took off at the start, and then there was a real push at the end, but there were definitely bids coming in the whole time,鈥� said Petterson. 聽
And as one of the organizers, she found it very encouraging to get notifications on the bids that were received.
鈥淭here are a lot of people who know the family, but there were a lot of people who had never met the family before, too, who were donating items just because that鈥檚 what the community does,鈥� said Petterson. 聽
Those who were successful in purchasing an item can drop by the Estevan Shoppers Mall at their convenience from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday to pick up their goods.
The Facebook auction wasn鈥檛 the only fundraiser for the Wigley family. The Fired Up Grill restaurant in Estevan donated half of their pizza sales towards the Wigley family on March 27. A total of 260 pizzas were sold that day, and the pizza sale revenues, combined with cash donations, amounted to $4,000.聽
Mason鈥檚 mother Christie Wigley echoed Petterosn鈥檚 statement, saying that they were overwhelmed with the success of the fundraisers. 聽
鈥淭he words escape me,鈥� said Christie. 鈥淔riends of ours had gotten together and decided they wanted to do something.鈥澛�
They were apprehensive at first, thinking that they didn鈥檛 need a fundraiser. Eventually the Wigley family gave it their blessing, and it turned into something much larger than they could have ever imagined.
鈥淭hey said that they were going to do a small little online auction, and we said 鈥榊ep, go ahead, and it turned into something huge. There were people on there who donated things that we don鈥檛 know who they are. There was businesses. Of course there were friends that donated things. And even the people bidding, there was people we knew and people we didn鈥檛 know.鈥澛�
In the case of the fundraiser at the Fired up Grill, the Wigleys have been friends with the restaurant鈥檚 owners, Robin and Sylvia Garchinski, since the Garchinskis moved to Estevan.
Christie expects the money that was raised will cover all of the costs associated with Mason鈥檚 treatments. He has more trips to Regina and a couple of trips to Saskatoon in the offing. He鈥檒l need help with costs of fuel, food and accommodations, and the money will also offset his cost of living expenses while he鈥檚 not able to work.
Mason had a chemotherapy treatment on March 31鈥� his second of six sessions. He鈥檚 starting to feel better after the latest round. He goes every three weeks.聽
