Hamilton Microfinance (HMF) hosted its 3rd Annual Valentine’s Date Auction on Feb. 11 and again raised more than $1000. The organization continues to utilize events such as this to grow its funds for issuing small business loans to local entrepreneurs as well as raise awareness about microfinance.
Members of the Hamilton community crowded into the Sadove Living Room, where they got a chance to donate and date. The top bid was for Mr. Hamilton 2015, LaShawn Russell-Ware ’17 for $105. The next highest bids went to Claire Callahan ’18 for $100 and David Dacres ’18 for $95.
Each year, students from all across campus come together to laugh at the witty introductions for each date and watch friendly bidding wars. Ifeoluwa Aiyelabowo ’19 really “enjoyed attending the date auction not only because it showed that people cared about the local community who want to achieve their American Dream, but also because it was fun seeing people try to outbid each other for dates.”
HMF is grateful for its recent successes such as issuing a loan to an Amish farmer in January. This semester, members look forward to visiting the businesses of former clients and to connecting with community partners to meet more potential candidates. (To learn more about their recent loan, see Hamilton Microfinance Extends Loan to Local Amish Farmer)
HMF would like to give a special thank you to Sadove Programming for sponsoring the event. The group also greatly appreciates everyone's support, especially those who contributed their time to volunteer as dates and those who contributed money toward making HMF’s work possible. To learn more, please contact micro@hamilton.edu.
