About 200 items donated by Cornell departments, local businesses and individuals go up for bid, Nov. 4-8, on the 2013 Cornellians Aiding and Responding to Employees (CARE) Fund online auction to benefit Cornell employees who experience an emergency that has a financial impact.

A wide range of items and services are available, including: tickets to the Cornell Concert Series, Schwartz Center performances and athletics events; tours; stays in the William Henry Miller Inn and Round Top Retreat; Shiitake mushroom logs; Sciencenter and Ultimate Athletics memberships; landscape and interior design consultations; wines and wine-tasting passports; Fine Line Bistro, Italian Carryout, Cornell Store and Banfi’s gift certificates; chocolate, coffee, gift baskets; quilts, paintings, stained glass frames, tote bags and photographs by local artists; T-shirts; Cornell sportswear items; and yard work and other services.

To preview items on the Web, go to http://auctions.weblite.ca/carefund2013/; or contact Beth McKinney at bm20@cornell.edu. You must register at the website to place bids, and you can bid as often as you wish.

The CARE Fund offers financial assistance to faculty and staff who have experienced a nonrecurring sudden or emergency-related financial hardship due to an unforeseen event. It provides one-time funds to address the faculty or staff member’s emergency financial challenge. It is not designed to address ongoing financial challenges and is not a loan that requires the funds to be reimbursed. Applicants who are approved for funding can receive $200-$1,500, depending on circumstances.

The Emergency CARE Fund program is funded through the donations of faculty, staff and others. This October, President David Skorton announced that the President’s Office and the Division of Human Resources and Safety Services will seed the fund with $25,000. To make a monetary donation – or to apply for – a CARE fund grant, go to https://www.hr.cornell.edu/life/support/care_fund.html.