Family, friends and colleagues came together for a night of fun on Oct. 13 to support the women’s basketball team at their 8th annual “For the Love of the Game” Silent Auction and Bingo fundraiser.

Guests were able to participate in a silent auction by viewing and bidding on different types of wrapped gift baskets. The gift baskets ranged from Cosumnes River College goodies bag to an El Dorado Wine basket.

“A parent of one of my athletes and I sat down and tried to brainstorm what would be a good thing to help us raise money,” said women’s basketball head coach Coral Sage. “We came up with the dinner and the auction then during the years we added Bingo in the event as well.”

Since the school system can only provide certain things for the team, the family-friendly fundraiser was an idea to help the team raise money to pay for trips and gear that the school can’t supply.

“This evening was great,” said CRC President Debbie Travis. “It’s always fun to get together and be able to be with the athletes and their coaches and raise a few dollars for their team.”

Instead of doing the typical car wash like other organizations, the team thought of another way to get involved in the community and to raise money at the same time.

“It’s way easier than having car washes every Saturday or multiple fundraisers,” said 19-year-old guard Alexis Mendez, a psychology major. “We put all our work into this and we have one big event and it’s fun.”

As the little kids played with balloons, guests sat around tables and mingled as they enjoyed a buffet meal from Zocalo’s and listened to music coming from the speakers.

As an overview of the team, a slideshow was shown to the supporters. Audience members got a glimpse of the players and their motto of “No Players Left Behind.”

If participants lost their luck during the auction, they also had chances to win in one of the four rounds of Bingo. The person with the golden ticket in each round was given a gift card to places like Old Navy, Nugget, Target, Best Buy and Pandora Bread.

“We want all of our players to know that they’re an integral part of the team,” said assistant coach Johnny Foster. “It’s not about how much you play, it’s how much you bring.”