Fundraiser expands beyond birdhouses
N.M. Coalition to end Homelessness aims for larger turnout in 2nd year at Not Just for the Birds auction
The donations began pouring in earlier this spring: paintings and prints of hummingbirds, owls and even avian abstractions. There were birdbaths and handmade birdhouses of all kinds — finely crafted wooden designs, ceramics, whimsical multimedia models, a tiny vintage camping trailer, bright pieces created with care by schoolchildren.
Artists of all ages and skill levels were eager to contribute to the cause, a bird-themed silent auction to benefit the homeless.
The theme is fitting, said Betty Baxter, a volunteer with the New Mexico Coalition
to End Homelessness, because “birds need homes, just like the homeless.”
The coalition will hold its second Not Just for the Birds fundraiser Sunday afternoon at the Scottish Rite Center. Money raised at the event will go to some of the advocacy organization’s 70 partners around the state, including the Interfaith Community Shelter at Pete’s Place and St. Elizabeth Shelter in Santa Fe. There’s no cost to attend the event, which includes a performance by the Ephemeral String Quartet and tours of the Scottish Rite Center.
Last year’s birdhouse auction, the coalition’s first fundraiser in the state since its founding in 2000, drew about 200 people and raised $11,000, Baxter said. “It was such a success, we decided to hold it again.”
Hank Hughes, the coalition’s executive director and one of its founders, said the organization mostly works behind the scenes, writing grants for its partner nonprofits, working to end homelessness among veterans, and advocating for stronger policies at the federal, state and local levels to benefit the homeless population.
The coalition estimates about 1,000 people in New Mexico are homeless at any given time, but some advocacy groups say the number could be more than twice that.
Since the coalition was founded, Hughes said, the number of beds in
permanent housing for people with disabilities has increased to 2,000 from 400. “That’s one of the most important things we’ve done,” he said. “… The people who get stuck in homelessness are the people who are disabled.”
Baxter expects a larger crowd at this year’s fundraiser, which is for “people who are interested in birds and people who are interested in the homeless,” as well as people who love art. “And there’s a goodly amount of people like that in Santa Fe.”
The coalition will auction more than 150 items Sunday, some from donors’ collections and others made specifically for the event, such as artwork created during printmaking workshops and dozens of birdhouses crafted by third-graders at Amy Biehl Community School and seventh-graders at El Dorado Community School.
Hughes said he has been impressed by the range and quality of the donated items. But, he confessed, “my favorites are actually the ones made by the schoolchildren.”