From Jacqueline Houtman,
author of The Reinvention of Edison Thomas (Front Street, 2010)

Artists, authors, business owners…

Please consider donating an item or service to sell in an auction to benefit Bridget Zinn [see right, click for blog] and Barrett Dowell.

Bridget is a 32-year-old YA writer and librarian who was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in March. She and Barrett, who have been together since they were teenagers, were married in the hospital just minutes before she went into surgery to remove a large tumor on her colon. She is now undergoing expensive treatment to shrink–and we hope obliterate–additional tumors.

The treatment seems to be working, but much of it is not covered by her health insurance. Bridget and Barrett’s friends and family are rallying to help them pay the bills so that they can focus on Bridget’s health. You can learn more about Bridget at her blog, www.bridgetzinn.com/blog.

Between Nov. 27 and Dec. 11, we (a group of Bridget’s friends) will hold an online silent auction on the website www.32auctions.com (not yet active), with all proceeds going to Bridget and Barrett to cover their expenses.

Here’s what it means to donate an item or service to the auction:

– You are donating the item to this auction, all proceeds of which will be given to Bridget Zinn. This is not a tax-deductible donation.

– You must provide an item title, description of up to 400 words, and starting bid for the online auction. You may also choose to provide a subtitle, fair market value, reserve price (amount that must be reached in bidding for the item to be sold), up to two photos/images, and website address for further information about you or about the item. All of this should be emailed to cailin.oconnor (at) gmail.com no later than Nov. 25.

– You may choose how you want to get the item to the winning bidder:

(1) Keep the item until the auction ends, and mail it to the winning bidder (or contact the winner to arrange pick-up/delivery if feasible). We will contact you with the winner’s contact information when payment has been received, and ask that you put the item in the mail to the winning bidder within 3 business days.

(2) Give your donated item to one of the auction organizers, who will get it to the winning bidder. This is a good option if you will not be available in the middle of December when the auction ends. If you are giving your item to an auction organizer, please indicate that (and who) when you send in your item description.