MarsCon 2005
"Galactic Pirates & Mercenaries"
Airport Marriott Hotel
Bloomington, MN

March 4-6, 2005

MarsCon 2005 Charity Auction

On Sunday from 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. we will hold a charity auction to benefit the Standing Rock Indian Reservation and the Gordy Dickson Memorial Scholarship Fund. Please help contribute to these worthwhile causes by donating something for the auction and something for the reservation, attending the auction, and bidding for items. Contact us ((2005 email addresses disabled - please see the 2006 email addresses) ) if there is something you would like to give. If you are planning to make a last minute donation at the convention, please bring your donated items to the Charity Auction display tables located in the Main Stage Ballroom and contact our Charity Auction coordinator Jessie Berg ahead of the auction time through the message board or by visiting OPS. Thank you for your generous contributions.

Our Primary MarsCon 2005 Charity: Standing Rock Indian Reservation

Contrary to popular belief, not all Native Americans benefit from the profits of casinos operated by various tribes across the Midwest. Standing Rock Reservation is home to about 5,000 to 10,000 people belonging to the Lakota Tribe of the Sioux Nation. The reservation straddles North and South Dakota. Poverty levels are equivalent to a third world country. Housing is woefully inadequate with many homes not even having the basics of electricity and running water. These simple luxuries, of course, are things which we take for granted. A high percentage of young adults do not finish high school because they feel there is no hope and foresee only a bleak future. Unemployment is 84%. There is so much apathy among the younger adults that chemical addition and suicide rate far exceed the national average. Many adults have given up hope and provide poor role models. High birthrates without the availability of proper medical care for either the mother or child is the norm. The continuance of these inadequate conditions produces a cycle of hopelessness that repeats from generation to generation resulting in an average life span of only 43 years. The author of this paragraph would have been dead for 12 years under these conditions. In addition to auction proceeds, we welcome other needed and useful items such as gently used clothing, blankets, blankets, blankets, housewares, towels, basic household items, toys, and nonperishable foods. Tables will be set up in the Main Gaming Room to receive these donations.

Thank you for your help.
Article by Juana Mann

Secondary Charity: Gordy Dickson Memorial Scholarship Fund

A portion of the charity auction proceeds has also been designated for FenSF, Inc., to benefit the Gordy Dickson Memorial Scholarship Fund. This fund was established in 2002 for the purpose of helping to send aspiring science fiction authors to Clarion, an intensive writers' workshop which focuses on the science fiction genre. The fund's first award, in 2004 of $1,000, went to Deborah A. Tabor.

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© 2004 FenSF, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This page last revised January 12, 2006 at 01:49 PM