JP/17/AUCT
Bachelor auction romantic way to raise funds
Evi Mariani The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The hottest bachelor at the charity auction was Alexander Jovanovic, 43, an Aussie with a pair of hazel-colored eyes, 180 centimeters in height, sexy streaks of gray hair in his wavy, dark hair and charm that sent the ladies screaming and crooning.
Of the total nine bachelors up for auction, his was the highest bid, at Rp 3.5 million (US$388). The winner of the bidding, Miriam, a sexy lady with exotically braided hair, won a romantic dinner for two with him.
At the same time, with the money she shelled out, she was helping, maybe, a smart but impoverished university student to complete his or her studies.
In total, this year's event, organized annually by the Forum of Executive Women (FEW), raised Rp 20 million from the auctioning of all nine bachelors, and from ticket fees and sponsors.
The money will be channeled via Yayasan Goodwill International, which has been providing help for less well-off university students at the University of Indonesia and Bogor Institute of Agriculture since 1999.
"I'm so happy that after all the donations made for tsunami victims, they are still willing to give for another good cause. I'm happy that people never seem to tire of giving," Poonam Sagar, the chairman of FEW, told The Jakarta Post.
Well, it seemed that it was not just she who was happy. The generous ladies, the volunteering bachelors, Mizue Hara and Bunbun Guharoy from Goodwill, Goodwill scholarship awardee Desrini Fatimah, and others in the room all looked happy and had a lot of fun.
"We raised Rp 60 million from last year's auction. Too many bachelors up for auction may have caused a reduction in the total raised this year. Maybe, the women were a bit confused in deciding whom to choose. Last year, a bachelor received a bid of as much as Rp 10 million," Poonam said.
The bachelors on auction on Thursday night at Mercantile Athletic Club comprised a German chef, an Italian university student, a Canadian investment adviser, an Indian consultant, an American consultant in public health, an Australian IT managing director, a Scottish rainforest savior (complete with traditional kilt and socks), an American security services manager and an Australian hotel manager.
They paraded on stage one by one as an auctioneer opened the bidding at Rp 500,000.
FEW, established in 1996, is a nonprofit organization that enables women to meet and share information, network and increase their knowledge on various business and social aspects of life.
FEW members are a blend of expatriate and Indonesian women from a wide variety of professions. Currently, there are about 400 FEW members in Jakarta.
Goodwill International, formerly known as International Community Activity Center (ICAC), is also a nonprofit organization founded by a number of expatriates and Indonesians.