Thousands of people dipped into their pockets for charity bazaars

Thousands of people turned out for the three charity fund-raising events which were held yesterday. The biggest was the Club Elsa bazaar, a three day event held in the Pueblo Español. There were racks of clothing for men, women and children, footwear, books, handbags, jewellery, kitchenware, furniture and just about everything you could think of. Club Elsa president Joana Walker said that the money raised would benefit a large number of people and projects. It will fund three university scholarships, five each for children from Aspace, Asnimo (Down's syndrome) and Gaspar Hauser (autists); a Christmas lunch at the jail; the Vicente Ferrer Foundation which works in India; the Association for the Fight Against Cancer, the Association for Alzheimer's sufferers and the Trinitarian Missionaries in Peru. The highlight of the three day event was the auction held at noon yesterday, with bidding in pesetas. The two paintings which fetched the highest prices, 75'000 pesetas each, were by Onofre Prohens and Basilio Escudero. Works by Coll Bardolet and Juli Ramis fetched 45'000 pesetas each. According to Club Elsa's PR, Carmen Ceva, the amount raised up to 1pm was six million pesetas, to which must be added the result of the auction and the last minute sales. The Sociedad Protectora de Animales y Plantas held a highly successful “doggie bazaar,” as it is popularly known, at its premises, where people could not only search for bargains, they could also adopt a pet if they wanted. All the money raised at the bazaar goes towards the upkeep of the stray dogs and cats, and holding the bazaar there gives people the opportunity of seeing exactly where the money goes. The book and clothing stalls once again proved to be the most popular. The third event was a mini-bazaar and a fashion show, held in Palma Nova, in aid of the British Royal Legion. Once again, there was a good turn out to bid for the new and nearly-new clothes and snap up the bargains on the stalls.