Published: Tuesday, March 5, 2013 1:06 AM CST

The Center of Yankton is set to host its annual Wine and Dine event this weekend, which is their biggest fundraiser of the year and helps them provide many of its free community services.

The event will take place at 5:30 p.m. Saturday March 9, and will feature a social hour with wine tasting, a silent auction, hors d’oeuvres, live entertainment featuring the group Sweetwater, dessert and a live auction.

Tickets can be purchased at The Center, located at 900 Whiting Drive or by calling 665-4685.

“The event will feature some heavy hors d’oeuvres that will be sit down, service type, along with about 45 silent auction prizes to bid on,” said Christy Hauer, executive director of The Center. “All of the prizes we have were all generously donated. The really big items that are up for bid will be part of the live auction.”

Some of the prizes for the auction include a stay in the Black Hills for up to 12 people, artwork, Twins and Royals tickets, golf packages and gift certificates.

“This is our major fundraising event for the year, and all the money we raise will go to pay for the programs we offer and to help our Meals on Wheels program,” Hauer said. “This event is very important to the success of our facility.”

Volunteers for The Center deliver 70-90 meals each day to people who are shut in and can’t leave their homes. In addition, nearly 100 meals are provided at The Center daily for people that need the nutrition but wouldn’t normally get a wholesome meal elsewhere.

Currently, The Center is also offering any community member, regardless of age, free tax services.

“We have tax aides on duty all throughout tax season to provide tax services, and before the season is over, more than 350 individuals and families will come to The Center to get their taxes done,” Hauer said.

Among the other free services The Center provides include a nurse consultant on duty, Medicare Part D assistance, a commodities program to help supplement low-income seniors’ grocery needs, a pet food assistance program, a senior companion program and a program that allows volunteers to shovel seniors’ driveways and sidewalks during snow.

The Center is also a Red Cross facility because of its generator, so if people living near The Center lose power, they can go there until power is restored.

“Running this event helps us continue to provide those free services we have for the community,” Hauer said. “In years past, we’ve typically raised about $4,500 during the event, but this year I’m hoping it’s around $10,000. There has already been around 150 tickets sold, which is outstanding.”

In addition to the tickets sold, Hauer estimates that prizes will add up to about $7,500 after the auction ends. She added that ticket sales are up this year, and some of the prizes are valued a lot more than they have been able to get in years past, and there are also more prizes available for auction.

“This year we were able to get a lot of major sponsors to help fund the food for the event, printing, beverages and entertainment,” Hauer said. “Sponsorships really made a difference this year.”

Because this is her first year doing the event, Hauer said she is looking forward to a number of things that this event offers.

“I’m really excited to build more community awareness by having people come into the facility and understanding that we provide a lot of free services and are impacting a lot of people in the area,” she said. “I’m also looking forward to educating people on everything we have to offer.”

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