PHOTO BY PAULA MULLER
Chelsea Garland holds up a pitcher, one of the items in the auction, donated by art teacher, Reeva Oppenheim.
BY GAYLA CAWLEY
SWAMPSCOTT — High school students are offering a chance to win Paul McCartney concert tickets at Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox tickets, a Kaplan SAT course and more, all for a good cause.
A year of hard work by Swampscott High School students has led to the town’s annual auction, a live television event over four nights.
The 17th annual Swampscott TV Auction, run by TV production students, and assisted by parents, residents, businesses, artists and organizations, will air from May 23-26 at 7-10 p.m.
Comcast viewers can catch the auction on Channel 15, the Swampscott High School TV network. Homes with Verizon can tune into Channel 40. Comcast is only available to Swampscott viewers, but Verizon customers can also tune in from Lynn and Nahant.
“It’s our version of the annual PBS auction and our most-watched event of the year for our viewers in Swampscott, Lynn and Nahant,” said Tom Reid, who teaches TV production and media literacy at the high school.
Viewers phone in bids and winners can pick up their items at the school a week later. The products and services are donated by local businesses and families. There are $2,000 worth of coupons to Flannery’s Handyman, a junk removal and moving company, rides for children on a fire engine and artwork.
Reid said the auction will be bigger than in past years because Joe Douillette has been hired as a new co-teacher in the department. He said 40 students are usually involved in the show, along with teachers, alumni, parents and well-known community members.
“It’s a great end of the year learning experience for the kids,” Reid said.
The auction usually raises $13,000 and is the primary fundraiser for the production department, helping to cover the cost of the next year’s program budget.
Kiely Quinn, 17, a junior, is co-producing the auction and has been involved since her freshman year. She said the camaraderie of the event really drew her in. She likes that everyone is working passionately towards the television event.
“It brings about a lot of funding,” Quinn said.
Cam McTague, 18, a senior, has been involved for three years. He said the relationships with other participating students and teachers grows throughout the year and culminates with the auction.
“It’s really like a family around here,” McTague said.
Today, Reid said the challenge is attracting local businesses, organizations and artists to sponsor the event. He said they are given lots of publicity before, during and after the auction, and they are mentioned frequently during the program and receive advertisement on the channel for the rest of the year. Another challenge is attracting nonprofits to send representatives to co-host different half hours of the event.
To become a sponsor, visit swampscotttv.com or email Reid at reid@swampscott.k12.ma.us.
Gayla Cawley can be reached at gcawley@itemlive.com. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.