By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com


Bidding begins in just a few days for an online auction to raise funds for a local nonprofit that provides a variety of services for Livingston County residents’ in-need.

Torch 180 was founded as a culinary training program for young adults with disabilities. Organizers secured the old Fowlerville Library building and then remodeled it to serve as a training center, restaurant, and home base. It had been set up for a grand opening in April of 2020 before the pandemic delayed it. Co-founder Rhonda Callahan said they are now working hard to get things going again and are holding a special online auction fundraiser to support their efforts. She said they have recently hired three students who will go into their culinary apprenticeship program that they are piloting. The hope is that they can grow to be the ones who keep the restaurant open on the weekends, allowing Torch 180 staff to bring in other people during the week to keep doing what they’re doing.

Bidding on items opens up this Friday, October 15th, but Callahan said residents can take part in a special raffle that might allow them to snag a prize for a really good deal: The Golden Ticket Raffle. Fifty raffle tickets are available at $50 apiece. One winner will be drawn and get their choice of 5 prizes not immediately included in the raffle. The Golden Ticket Raffle winner will be able to choose between an iPad, a Boyne Mountain ski package, 50-lbs of beef from Brent Earl Farms, a dental whitening package, or a $300 Amazon gift card. The winning ticket will be drawn on Monday, October 18th. The items not selected will then be put into the auction for all to bid on.

They will join prizes including jewelry from Cooper and Binkley, a Waldenwoods membership, a package from the Grand River Corn Maze and Haunted House, gift baskets, expensive bourbon, and a student’s ride home from school in a Fowlerville Fire Department fire truck.

For more information, including a link to register for the auction, visit https://www.torch180.org/torch-180-online-auction.html