GLIDE Announces Annual eBay for Charity Auction Lunch​

From GLIDE: GLIDE is pleased to announce the 18th Annual eBay for Charity Auction for Power Lunch with Warren Buffett. Offered through eBay for Charity, bidding for this year’s auction opens on Sunday, June 4 and runs until Friday, June 9. Last year’s auction tied the record with a winning bid of $3,456,789.

The annual Power Lunch with Warren Buffett has supported GLIDE in its mission to provide San Francisco’s homeless, poor and most vulnerable residents with unconditional support and love. To date, with the help of eBay for Charity—one of the world’s largest charitable platforms, which helps millions of eBay users support the causes they care about—over $23 million has been raised. The winning bidder will have the opportunity to dine with Mr. Buffett and up to seven friends at Smith & Wollensky in New York City.

“The generosity of Warren Buffett and the eBay for Charity auction bidders allows us to build bridges of compassion, hope and love for everyone, regardless of age, race, gender or country of origin,” said GLIDE’s Co-Founder and Minister of Liberation Reverend Cecil Williams. “Mr. Buffett is a steadfast believer in the power of inclusion and opportunity, and that’s what we provide to San Francisco’s most marginalized residents. Through our programs, we are a beacon of hope and a sanctuary of unconditional love for all.”

Bidding for this year’s eBay for Charity auction opens at 7:30 pm PDT on Sunday, June 4 and closes at 7:30 pm PDT on Friday, June 9. The bidding starts at $25,000 and all bidders must be pre-qualified prior to bidding. To pre-qualify, visit: eBay.com/GLIDE.

For the first time, in addition to the auction, any eBay shopper can donate directly to GLIDE and will be automatically entered to win a trip to San Francisco to meet co-founders Reverend Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani and attend their legendary Sunday Celebration. Shoppers can make donations in the form of symbolic gifts ranging from $10 that can provide a fried chicken lunch for two, to $80 that can help provide a 40-minute legal service consultation, with each entry helping to fund a unique GLIDE program. To be automatically entered to win, simply donate to GLIDE through the eBay for Charity platform between May 8 and June 9.

For over 50 years, regardless of the political environment or changes in the economy, GLIDE has always stood with the most vulnerable, including poor people, those with illness, people of color, immigrants, as well as all families and children fleeing war and oppression. Despite the rhetoric and fear in the world today, GLIDE is and always has been a place for those in need to find a warm meal, access to health care and shelter, childcare and family services, and someone to advocate for them. GLIDE feeds roughly 750,000 meals a year through its Daily Free Meals program.

“We believe in building bridges, not walls,” said GLIDE Co-Founder Janice Mirikitani. “Warren Buffett and the generous bidders enable us to provide a holistic array of high quality services that meet critical needs, improve lives and elevate the human spirit.”

“Everyone that has experienced GLIDE comes away a believer,” said Buffett. “They have to see it to believe it, but when they see it, they do believe it.”

“With eBay for Charity, we make it easy for every transaction to have a meaningful impact for thousands of charities,” said eBay’s President and CEO Devin Wenig. “To date, our platform has helped raise over $725 million dollars – with over $23 million for GLIDE alone. I’ve personally seen the positive impact that GLIDE has made in the lives of the disenfranchised in San Francisco. We continue to be huge supporters of GLIDE and hope this auction will help further its mission of promoting equality and inclusiveness for all.”

As host of the annual Power Lunch with Warren Buffett since 2004, Alan Stillman, founder of Smith & Wollensky, has generously donated at least $10,000 each year. Smith & Wollensky has been called “the quintessential New York steakhouse” by Gourmet Magazine and “the steakhouse to end all arguments” by The New York Times.

The Annual Warren Buffett Lunch Charity Auction was conceived in 2000 by the late Susie Buffett, who long maintained a strong affinity for GLIDE’s efforts to provide dignity and opportunity to all people, regardless of income, gender, religion, political persuasion or any other factor. Over the past 17 years, the winning bids have ranged from $25,000 (prior to eBay’s involvement) to $3,456,789, with the past ten years’ power lunches going for over $1,000,000. Funds raised go directly to support GLIDE’s programs, which help people overcome hunger, poverty, homelessness and debilitating health challenges. Last year’s auction brought in $3,456,789, which tied the record for the highest bid recorded.

eBay, which will host the auction for the fourteenth year in a row, will augment its support for GLIDE in 2017 with additional donations and an employee volunteer event.

For more information about GLIDE’s 18th Annual eBay Auction for Power Lunch with Warren Buffett, please contact GLIDE at (415) 674-6060, Buffett@GLIDE.org or visit eBay.com/GLIDE. For more information about GLIDE please visit GLIDE.org.

About GLIDE:

For more than fifty years, GLIDE has worked to create a radically inclusive, just and loving community mobilized to alleviate suffering and break the cycles of poverty and marginalization. Located in the culturally rich Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco, GLIDE serves a diverse cross-section of homeless, low-income and disenfranchised program participants, providing a comprehensive set of programs including free meals; HIV/Hep C testing and counseling; housing assistance; domestic violence counseling and abatement; substance abuse recovery; licensed childcare; afterschool and summer programs for youth; a resource center for families; free legal services; and access to free primary and behavioral health care. GLIDE has founded and sustained visionary programming, and achieved tangible results for tens of thousands of individuals and families on the margins, all once thought to be beyond the possible. For additional information, visit GLIDE.org.

Twitter: @GLIDEsf

Instagram: @GLIDEsf

Facebook: facebook.com/GLIDEsf

Photo courtesy of GLIDE