Auction Support Letters

Personal letter from Compass House

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Dear Rock Fans:

Happy New Year from Compass House! My name is Lisa Freeman and I am the agency's new Executive Director. I now fill the shoes of Sylvia Nadler who has long been connected with the Rock the House Auction - but by no means am I a stranger to your amazing fundraising efforts for our kids (I've actually been with Compass House for almost 25 years!).

I am happy to announce that this year's auction will take place online the week of March 19 through the 25th. This is a great time for music and pop culture lovers to get their hands on unique, rare and always awesome rock and roll memorabilia while supporting runaway and homeless teens in Western New York.

If you didn't already know, Compass House has provided runaway and homeless youth with emergency housing, safety and support for 40 years. We work with youth ages 12 to 24 from across our region that are looking for help, are homeless or are at-risk of becoming homeless. Our kids come to us from all walks of life - from stable homes both in the city and surrounding suburbs - to ones impacted by family tensions, domestic violence, mental health issues, and drug and alcohol abuse.

Every time you consider bidding on an auction item, keep these statistics in mind:

The National Runaway Switchboard estimates that within three days of being on the streets a young person will resort to drugs, crime or prostitution just to survive.

Children under the age of 18 account for 39% of the homeless population - that's almost half of all individuals who experience homelessness. Without intervention, many of these youth will be unable to remain in school, will become isolated and exponentially increase their odds of becoming chronically homeless.

Between 1.6 and 2.8 million youth run away in any given year - 20,000 in New York State and 2,000 in the community Compass House directly serves.

Every item bid you win helps us give hope to a teen that desperately needs it. By putting your money where your heart is, you are part of the solution.

As always, we thank you for your incredible support year after year. And thanks for helping us Rock the House!

Yours,

Lisa Freeman
Executive Director

From Robby Takac