At a recent car auction, a classic car was up for auction, but when the auctioneer explained why that car was being auctioned, it caused a highly emotional bidding war.
3-year-old Liam and 6-year-old Arielle Keryluke lived with their grandparents since the time their parents passed away in a motorcycle accident four months ago.
Ben and Marilyn cared for the children, and were expecting a flow of medical bills as they were treating the kids for their hearing impairments.
The elderly couple did not have any means of paying for those bills and raising their grand kids, and so as a last resort they decided to auction their 1973 Pontiac Parisienne, that their son bought before he died.
Although they were emotionally attached to the car, they knew that caring for Liam and Arielle was more important.
Somebody helped set up a GoFundMe page for the family which has raised over $80,000 since being created in May, but because of the kindhearted 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, and the auctioneer explained that the car was being sold to benefit the Keryluke family, before starting the bidding.
The post has been shared on Facebook by EGA, which shows the choked-up auctioneer having trouble to keep his voice in check because of the high emotion behind the Keryluke’s story.
The car was finally sold for $29,000, but the buyer again puts it back into auction, so that it can be sold again and raise more money for the family.
The car is bought second time for $30,000 and then it is donated back again. Again the car is sold for a third time for $20,000.
But that wasn’t the final stop for it, many people contributed personally to the family, bringing the total to roughly $100,000.
The sweetest part of the story is when the final buyer ends up giving the car back to the Keryluke family, so that Arielle and Luke could have it when they’re older.
“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 said.
“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.