When a classic car was up for auction earlier this week, the auctioneer made sure to explain why the car was being auctioned – and it resulted in an emotional bidding war.
3-year-old Liam and 6-year-old Arielle Keryluke have been living with their grandparents since their parents died in a motorcycle accident four months ago.
Since grandparents Ben and Marilyn have been caring for the children, they are anticipating an influx of medical bills as a means of treating the kids for their hearing impairments.
So in order to raise money for the children’s future, the seniors decided to auction the 1973 Pontiac Parisienne that their son had been working on before he died. Though they had hoped to hold onto the car, they knew that caring for Liam and Arielle was more important.
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A GoFundMe page for the family has already raised over $80,000 since it was created back in May – but thanks to the kindness of car enthusiasts, the Kerylukes now have more than double that amount.
The Pontiac went onto the buyer’s block at Electric Garage Auctions (EGA) in Red Deer, Alberta on Saturday. The auctioneer explained that the car was being sold to benefit the Keryluke family before kicking off the bidding.
EGA posted a video of the auction to their Facebook page this weekend. At 4 minutes and 30 seconds, the choked-up auctioneer has trouble keeping his voice in check because of the sheer emotion behind the children’s story.
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At 7 minutes and 15 seconds, the car is finally sold for $29,000 – but then, the buyer donates the car back so that it can be donated a second time. At 8 minutes and 30 seconds, it is bought for $30,000 and then it is donated back again. At 9 minutes, the car is sold for a third time for $20,000.
The kindness doesn’t stop there, either – several people made individual donations to the family, bringing the total to roughly $100,000. The final buyer then ended up donating the car back to the Keryluke family so that Arielle and Luke could inherit it when they’re older.
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“People were overwhelmed with just the generosity of people of central Alberta and the support that this family has,” Lyndsay Payne, co-owner of EG Auctions, told Global News.
“It was incredible. People were cheering, I was crying. Our auctioneer Rod had a hard time getting through it because he was crying. He was emotional.
“It was unreal. I’ve never been a part of anything like that before in my life,” Payne added.
(WATCH the video below)
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