The Swift Current Royal Canadian Legion Branch 56 wrapped up their debut online auction late last week. 

John Griffin, head of public relations for the Swift Current branch said that the idea for the online auction grew from the need to raise money in order to install two new plaques on the cenotaph in Memorial Park. 

Throughout the process of looking for donations for the auction, Griffin stated that the generosity of one local club shifted the focus of the whole auction. 

“When we were going around getting donations for the auction, the Comrades Forever Motorcycle Club generously stepped up and covered the costs for the plaques,” he said. “So, we kind of had to shift gears with the auction, and now all the money raised is going to go towards Legion programs designed to benefit local veterans.” 

There were ten items available to bid on throughout the silent online auction, donated from various businesses around Swift Current. 

Items included in the auction were a Veteran signed print by Anthony Saunders titled “Juno Beach,” and a Veteran signed D-Day grouping both donated by A.M. Delivery. Other items to bid on were a SodaStream from Safeway, two safes from Staples, a tattoo package from Tilted Head Tattoo, a set of tires from Fountain Tire, a block heater from Peavey Mart, a Buck 701 collector's knife from Comrade Jim Appleyard, and a military records search from Charles Griffin Genealogical Research Service. 

In the first year of the auction, they managed to raise just over one thousand dollars.