Live streaming will be available during the scheduled auction hours.
The Hopkinsville Rotary Club's Annual Rotary Auction is the most successful publicly-funded student loan program in the world. It is also the largest single Rotary Club fundraising project in all of Rotary International, which includes 32,000 clubs in 200 nations worldwide. Yes, we are proud of and excited about this great community service project!
It started with a goat, and it grew! 59 years ago, the Hopkinsville Rotary Club held its first live radio auction.
(One of the items, a goat, was resold numerous times and became a celebrity!) The proceeds of that effort were $3,558.38, and after just two auctions, the Student Loan Program helped 16 Christian County young people.
In the past 59 years, the auction and student loan program has grown dramatically. The fund has provided over $8,403,000.00 to area students to further their post high school education. Almost 9,000 students have benefited from this work. In 2006 alone, over $310,000.00 was loaned out to more than 200 students.
And though the auction has brought in more than $3,000,000.00 in the last eighteen years, the demand for loans has exceeded the success of the auction. For instance, in the year 1990, due to the cancellation of several government assistance programs, our program provided $426,000.00 to area students. That amount far exceeds the auction proceeds. To meet this demand, our Rotary Club borrowed money from local banks so that no student would be turned down in his or her request for funds.
Presently the Hopkinsville Rotary Club and the Student Loan Fund is on solid ground. The money borrowed in 1990 has been repaid, and we are continuing to fund over $300,000.00 to students each year. Our goal for this year is $250,000.00, and your contribution will help us to reach that goal and provide deserving students with the assistance they need in order to further their education. Last summer, we awarded $50,000.00 in scholarships and have recently implemented a part time education program.
