NEWBURYPORT — People got to pose with a 2018 Boston Red Sox World Series championship trophy as part of the Newburyport Education Foundation’s Lighthouse Auction held Saturday in City Hall.
While taking a photo with the trophy was free, this year’s iteration of the annual auction generated plenty of money with more than $100,000 raised – eclipsing the nonprofit’s goal for its biggest fundraiser of the year.
“The community poured out for us and we had great attendance,” NEF board member Deb Pare said Monday. “We had everybody from parents to School Committee members in the crowd. We had a really mixed group of people who came and had fun while supporting our mission.”
The local organization is dedicated to providing financial resources as well as community involvement that enhances education in the Newburyport Public Schools, according to its mission statement.
Pare chaired the auction, which she said saw City Hall decked out in the Newburyport High School colors of maroon and gold with dozens of sports-related banners spread out across the auditorium.
Funds will go to pay for roughly a dozen education programs including the continued upkeep of book vending machines at the Francis T. Bresnahan Elementary School and Molin Upper Elementary School – as well as the construction of a multimedia lab at the high school. Money will also allow high school students the ability to take college-level courses at Endicott College, Northern Essex Community College and Southern New Hampshire University .
Between online and in-person auctions, NEF had over 300 donations as well as services to offer bidders, including a ride on a fire truck for four students during the department’s annual Santa Claus parade in December that Pare said went for $500.
Downtown restaurants Oregano Pizzeria & Ristorante, Port Vida a Mexican Cantina as well as the Tuscan Sea Grill & Bar had dining experiences auctioned off.
“We also had Boston Bruins tickets and ski baskets,” Pare said. “It was just a great turnout for the community and the extended community.”
Face time with Mayor Sean Reardon was also auctioned off many times. The city’s chief executive will welcome a winning bidder as “Mayor for the Day” to City Hall sometime over the next year. Auction winners will also be able to “Party with the Mayor,” “Call a Basketball Game with the Mayor,” as well as light the Christmas tree with Reardon later this month during the Newburyport Rotary Club’s annual Santa parade and tree lighting ceremony in Market Square.
“It was a great night,” Reardon said, Monday. “NEF does a lot of great things for our community. So, I try to help them out whenever I can.”
M.K. Benatti Jewelers hosted a raffle during the auction where the winners received a $3,500, $1,000 and $500 shopping spree in the downtown store.
“This was their 13th year supporting us with a raffle,” Pare said of M.K. Benatti Jewelers. “That always raise a significant amount of funds. They’re amazing.”
NEF executive director Carrie O’Donnell said Monday the raffle raised over $7,000 in the process.
“We are so lucky to live in a community that values education so highly,” she said. “To have so many families bid and so many companies donate items and sponsor us just shows the level of support we have.”
Over the past 20 years, O’Donnell said NEF has raised over $5 million for Newburyport Public Schools. In 2024 alone, the nonprofit committed to funding $339,000 in programming.
She also asked NEF members to keep an eye on their mailbox, where they should receive a mailing for the annual appeal that she said traditionally raises over $40,000 a year.
Amy McLaughlin Flowers took care of the auction’s floral arrangements that Pare said were “simply stunning.”
Pare also make sure to thank the evening’s presenting sponsor, the Institution for Savings.
“They’ve supported us for many years,” she said.
While the auction may be over, folks can still donate to the NEF by visiting www.newburyportef.org, according to O’Donnell.