Buoyed by teamwork and substantial support from the community, Solid Rock Youth Ministries is preparing for one of its marquee events.

The nonprofit's annual Auction & Dinner will be held Friday, March 27, at Wesley Church, 1104 Kirkwood Drive, Quarryville.

A silent auction will start at 4:30 p.m. Dinner will be served from 5 to 6:30 p.m., and the live auction will begin at 7 p.m.

Children 5 years old and younger will be admitted at no charge. There is no fee for people who attend the auction without purchasing a dinner ticket.

The deadline to buy dinner tickets is Friday, March 20. To register, call 717-786-8007 or go to http://www.solidrockquarryville.com/auction.

The food will include ham, potatoes, green beans, applesauce, dinner rolls, drinks, and dessert.

"It's a fun evening for fellowship, meeting new people, and supporting Solid Rock," auction coordinator Dana Nixon said.

Donations for the auction may be made through March 20. Dana noted she will be happy to set up a meeting time and place to pick up contributions. Email dananixon5@gmail.com for more information.

Solid Rock is seeking new items such as homemade furniture, blankets, and home decor. "Those items usually do really well, and I feel like our community loves supporting small businesses too, and it gives the small businesses who have different items the chance to put their name out there," said executive director Raeanne Nixon. "I believe that people do give them business down the road with that."

Other products that will be up for bid include a week stay in Bethany Beach, Del.; tables; chairs; farm-fresh beef; homemade catered dinners; and a variety of baskets.

There will also be gift cards to local theaters, restaurants, golf courses, and bowling alleys.

"It's a silent auction, and then we pick like 30 items and do a live auction with them at the end of the evening," Raeanne said.

"I'm excited to see it," said administrative assistant Avonlea Bitts. "I think there's something really powerful about people coming together in order to support a group like this. It's been great already for me to see how this team works together to impact the families in this community."

The money generated will benefit Solid Rock's programs. "The money goes to help run all of the operations," Raeanne said. "It helps us to be able to continue to provide free programming for families."

Solid Rock hosts students from kindergarten through 12th grade and holds activities at several local churches.

"Simply, we serve families in the Solanco area," said youth director Josh Rotz, noting that for 28 years, Solid Rock has been focused on serving students and families in the community while meeting students' physical and spiritual needs. "Being able to see families thrive is really our vision and mission, so being able to offer programs that allow students a safe space to come and be themselves and be loved and be heard is important to what we do (as well as) giving them opportunities to do things they wouldn't have opportunities to do otherwise."

Raeanne noted that she relies on a talented team to organize the auction and help run the Solid Rock's programs. "We have Dana, who (collects) all the auction items, and then she has a whole team of people," she said. "We have a team of people taking care of the dinner part, and then we have people helping set up. It really takes a group of people putting this together, so we're thankful for everyone."

Solid Rock also counts on area residents. "The community comes together and supports Solid Rock," Raeanne said. "It's awesome. This is one of our big fundraising events. We're really thankful for all of our sponsors and all of the people who are donating items. We have a great community in Solanco."