By Jim McIntyre/American Red Cross

It was the first time we’ve ever tried holding a fundraiser exclusively online.  BASH 2020-Mission: Possible was a fundraiser and auction to benefit the American Red Cross, and hosted by the Red Cross of Heartland, Stark and Muskingum Lakes.

Traditionally an annual in-person event held at the MAPS Air Museum in Green, Ohio, BASH has been a successful gathering of hundreds of Red Cross supporters who come together to socialize and to bid on an amazing array of items – many of them donated by generous sponsors.  But because of the current COVID-19 environment, we pivoted to a virtual event.

“We are so sad we can’t get together with everyone as we have in the past,” said Kim Kroh, Executive Director of the Red Cross of Heartland, Stark, and Muskingum Lakes.  “But the health and safety of our supporters, our volunteers and our staff is our top priority.  So we did the next best thing!”

Hosted by Emmy Award-winning journalist Denise Dufala, BASH 2020 began with a live broadcast on Facebook and YouTube on Saturday, May 30th, when the bidding on more than 60 items began.  The bidding ended at 4:00 pm on Wednesday, June 3rd with another live broadcast on Facebook and YouTube.

Several of the items up for bid were featured in the video below:

We are grateful for all of our sponsors who helped make our first ever virtual event, BASH 2020 – Mission Possible a success.  We surpassed our goal, raising more than $32,000, thanks to them, and to all who placed bids and made donations in memory of Jim Van Etten, our 2020 Jack B. Liberator Lifetime Community Excellence Award winner.

“I would like to thank everyone who made BASH 2020  a success.  There were many participants involved and each of them played a vital role in raising funds to further our life-saving mission,” Kim said.  ” Thank you to the staff, board members, disaster volunteers, our generous sponsorship and auction item donors, and Denise Dufala.  It truly takes a village to create something so incredibly awesome as our virtual BASH 2020 fundraiser and I couldn’t be prouder to be part of this team!”