Image from SOS Alliance

SOS Holiday Party & Silent Auction
Friday, December 7
Mercury Hall (615 Cardinal Lane)
$10 Suggested Donation, 7pm - Midnight
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In addition to food, drinks and great people, the event will showcase music by two environmentally-conscience local bands, Bill Oliver's Otter Space Band and The Bouldin Creek Bobkats. The Silent Auction features items from over 300 Austin businesses, including Alamo Drafthouse, BookPeople, Guero's, Live Oak, Tito's and Whole Earth--just to name a few. While the event is officially free, there is a suggested donation of $10 that will go to benefit the S.O.S. Alliance.

[Silent Auction List of Donors]

And they need it now, more than ever. Financial problems resulting from a number of overzealous campaigns have resulted in near-insurmountable setbacks for the group.

Last year, due to lack of funds, SOS cut its staff, eliminating senior positions and forcing Executive Director Bill Bunch to take a 10% pay cut. Shortly thereafter, they declared bankruptcy amidst staggering lawyer fees resulting from legal battles with regional developers who threatened, and continue to threaten, the fragile Barton Springs watershed. Adding to the already considerable mountain of debt, at the end of last year the organization spent thousands of dollars on two city charter amendments that failed at the polls.

Today, SOS survives with the help of a few dozen people who donate their time and labor to help protect an environmental wonder right in the middle of a growing urban city--and, frankly, we need them. So, come out tonight, pitch in a few bucks, listen to some music and maybe win a few things, all the while supporting a good cause. To think of an Austin without organizations like SOS, whose sole purpose is to conserve what once was, is a scary thought.