The Jerry Frost Celebrity Benefit Auction raised more than $300 for Kirksville resident Jerry Frost.
Frost, a former Sodexo worker, hosted the auction to pay off medical debt he accumulated during June 2014 when he was hospitalized after a diabetic attack. After he was diagnosed with diabetes, he and his wife, Tamara Frost, a former Truman State communication professor, were left to pay off more than $40,000 in medical bills with no health insurance.
Tamara Frost says they hosted this auction because many celebrity items did not sell at an earlier auction.
“Our last auction was focused on auctioning off the things that people had donated to us,” Tamara said. “They weren’t expecting to get signed pictures . . . we decided to do another event just on celebrity items”.
After this auction, Tamara Frost says she was contacted by several people interested in what items were left. She says the items sold after the auction earned them an additional $30.
Some items, including an “Avengers: Age of Ultron” poster signed by Joss Whedon, a signed “M*A*S*H” script not available anywhere else and a signed collection of “Batman: The Animated Series” DVDs, had a reserve price placed on them because of the value, Tamara Frost says. She says items that had a reserve price did not sell.
For the items that did not sell or had a reserve price, Tamara Frost says she plans to take them to collectors, then any items left will be sold online to collector websites and, as a last resort, sites like eBay. Tamara Frost says they are also in the process of receiving state funds for disability.
Jerry Frost says in addition to the auction, they also have a Go Fund Me page several people already have donated to. He says they are working on other projects to help raise money, including a music festival.
Jerry and Tamara Frost says they have been amazed by the amount of support they’ve received from Truman students and community members. Former Truman student Mike White assisted with the auction and says helping with the auction has been a great experience. White says he was responsible for getting in touch with many of the celebrities and handling the items that they sent.
“I’m surprised by the generous reactions of some celebrities,” White said. “I did not expect Joss Whedon to send us anything let alone a full-sized poster for what is said to be the biggest movie of the summer.”
Anyone who is interested in the remaining celebrity items or would like to donate can contact Jerry or Tamara Frost through their Facebook page or their Go Fund Me page.
