Fifth-grade art club students at Vandora Springs Elementary School continue to take a stand against cancer by painting and later auctioning items people can sit on. The students paint chairs that are auctioned as part of the annual Chairs of Hope project, a fundraiser for the art club’s team in the Garner Relay for Life. This year’s auction is set for 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 16, in the school cafeteria. Chairs of Hope, like the annual Empty Bowl project benefiting Garner Area Ministries, is something art teacher Jim Hunt held at other schools in the past and brought with him to Vandora Springs 11 years ago. Through the Empty Bowl project, students collect nonperishable food donations in exchange for their artwork. Chairs of Hope, Hunt has found, hits closer to home for some of his students. “There’s a lot of kids who worked on these chairs who had family members touched by cancer,” he said. “They’ve had that difficult connection. It’s always good to give an opportunity for the kids to use their gifts and talents, no matter what the outreach is.

But Garner is one of the real Relay hotbeds, so it just made sense to work with that since it’s so popular.” The auction has become popular. The students paint 40 or so chairs every year. Bidding on each chair starts at $25 and rises by $5 per each additional bid.used computer chair for sale in bangalore The annual fundraising goal is $3,000. chair cover rentals east bayBut last year, Chairs of Hope raised $6,456.chairs for sale in delhi “They definitely come back year after year, and we know we can always count on them to support Relay for Life,” said Garner Relay chair Jill Cottengim.dining room chair stretch covers

Cottengim’s daughters took part in Chairs of Hope when they were students at Vandora Springs. “It’s a good way to raise awareness for the kids,” she said. “It’s important for the kids to learn to give back.” Though Hunt isn’t on social media, he said Relay folks and other supporters have used those channels to grow interest in the auction, and that has made a difference.balance ball chair system It likely helps that the Garner Relay for Life is one of the largest Relays in the 13 counties making up the American Cancer Society’s Raleigh market.wrought iron chair seat cushions “With any charitable event, there’s always going to be people who have heard of it, but not connected with it,” Hunt said. black chaise lounge chair for sale

“So it’s good to go through as many outlets as possible to try to pull in as many people as we can that particular evening.” For the second year, local businesses have been given the opportunity to donate $100 to paint a chair that represents either their business or follows the students’ annual theme. wheelchair parts for sale ukThose chairs will also be auctioned off, and people can make small donations to vote on the best business chair.cheap dining table and chairs in leedsThere’s no place like home. Just three months after Marc Porter started at Sotheby’s, having moved there from Christie’s, he is returning as Chairman of Christie’s Americas, the auction house announced Wednesday. Though Mr. Porter will have the same title he held previously, the role has been expanded to include membership on the executive committee, direct responsibility for special projects and a direct line of reporting to the chief executive, Guillaume Cerutti, who in January replaced Patricia Barbizet.

Mr. Porter only recently completed a noncompete year before starting at Sotheby’s as chairman of the Fine Art Division, in January. He has no noncompete arrangement with Sotheby’s and plans to start at Christie’s shortly. “In my new job, I can mentor all of these people that I want to mentor, I can stay close to the art which I’ve really cared about, I can be involved with the private sale program and I’m on the executive committee,” Mr. Porter said in a telephone interview. “It’s just right for me.” It was considered a major coup when Sotheby’s won Mr. Porter away from Christie’s in December 2015. But during his yearlong wait to start, the auction landscape has changed considerably, and the air grew thinner at the top of Sotheby’s masthead. Sotheby’s acquired Art Agency, Partners — bringing an advisory business into its core operations at a cost of up to $85 million — and made it clear that Mr. Porter was now going to share chairman status with Amy Cappellazzo and Allan Schwartzman.

Sotheby’s also hired Christy MacLear, the chief executive of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, to expand its advisory services for living artists and for artists’ estates and foundations. (Other top stars of the auction world played musical chairs, as well. At Christie’s, Brett Gorvy, the longtime chairman and international head of postwar and contemporary art, left to become a dealer. And Alex Rotter, Sotheby’s former co-chairman of contemporary art, joined Christie’s as chairman of postwar and contemporary art at Christie’s Americas.) Private sales continue to be a growing segment of the auction business, in part because the inventory of top consignments has diminished. This is an area Mr. Porter championed at Christie’s and his new role there will include a focus on private sales, the auction house said. At Christie’s, Mr. Porter will lead the region’s growing client and business development activities and serve as a member of the company’s executive management group, which guides the firm’s global strategy, with the board.