Last Sunday afternoon, with the beautiful Knoxville Botanical Gardens as a backdrop, people from all over Knoxville gathered in hopes of doing their part in the fight against kidney disease.

Gamma Sigma Sigma National Service Sorority's Gamma Kappa Chapter at the University of Tennessee planned the art auction that raised about $800, despite the rain.  This was the organization's first auction, but each year they have some type of event to benefit the National Kidney Foundation, their main philanthropy. 

"It was so fun to see the beautiful work on display and to know we were helping a good cause at the same time."-Sarah Monday

Light hors d'oevre were served and guests were treated to a tour of the gardens while the bidding took place. The main attraction of the event, however, was the auction, which included many pieces of art and an assortment of gift baskets and gift certificates. 

The philanthropy chair of Gamma Sigma Sigma, Taylor Lovelace, planned the event and was very pleased with the outcome. "The auction was a great success. We ended up with about 80 pieces to auction off and made about $800 from those items after breaking even on our expenses with ticket sales."

The most popular item was a large photo of a beautiful tree in World's Fair Park with the Sunsphere in the background taken by Gamma Sigma Sigma member and t-shirt chair, Lauren Bright. There were also paintings and drawings by children with kidney disease that proved to be popular and meaningful.

Sarah Monday, president of the Gamma Kappa Chapter of Gamma Sigma Sigma, said, "The Art Auction was such a success! It was fun to see the beautiful work on display and to know we were helping a good cause at the same time."

All of the proceeds will go to the East Tennessee National Kidney Foundation to help in their efforts to build awareness of kidney disease.  Taylor Lovelace said, "I am really looking forward to making this donation to the National Kidney Foundation. We have been working toward this all semester."

Chronic Kidney Disease is considered a silent disease because most people do not realize they have it until it reaches late stages.  It does not present symptoms like the flu would.  This is why it is so important for people to have their kidneys screened, especially if they have a higher risk due to conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or a history of chronic kidney disease in their family. Also, people over the age of 60 should get screened.