PENDLETON — This is the weekend when Madison County residents grab their checkbooks and telephones and sit in front of the television. The Bids for Kids auction — a cross between QVC and e-Bay — starts Friday night.

Pendleton resident Bonny Clark has been diligently knocking doors for the seventh spring in a row, asking businesses to donate goods or gift certificates to benefit children in Madison County through the event.

The Exchange Club stages the annual auction to combat child abuse, the national mission of the networking organization.

“The auction is our biggest event of the year to raise money for child abuse protection through programs of the Exchange Club, Children’s Bureau and Family Resource Center,” Clark said. “We support the programming here, if I had to put a dollar amount on it, with easily over $100,000 dollars a year. We raise the better bulk of it through the Bids for Kids TV auction.”

The live auction takes place at Reardon Auditorium and can be watched on cable channel 3. Ten items at a time are placed on the bidding block for a certain length of time, while hosts discuss the products and the stores which donated them. Callers place bids, watch their items and phone in again if they are outbid.

“There’s a lot of game playing – how to get the last bid. People have their own little strategies,” added Clark. “You’d be surprised how many people come to Reardon to pick up their items and then sit down in the audience and pull out their cell phones. The phone bank is right down stage. They call on their cell phones to get their bids in really quick, but they’re seeing the item live. So it’s a lot of fun to go down to the auditorium and see the auction live, too.”

Originally the auction was live and broadcast on the radio. Twenty years ago, the event was aired on TV, which enables more people to participate.

The effort is a collaboration of three local Exchange Clubs, one that meets in the morning for breakfast, one at noon for lunch, and the other in the evening for dinner. Members have collected items from area businesses, and Clark commented on the great support of Pendleton businesses.

“We have a push mower from Tractor Supply and lots and lots of food certificates from restaurants like Jimmie’s, Dairy Queen and Pizza Hut,” she said, “and gift certificates from many stores like Tadpoles, Girlfriends, Gaia Health Foods and The Flower Cart — not to mention items from Mud Puddlz and Twigs.”

Clark said that the gift certificates were very popular because they allow people the freedom to purchase exactly what they like.

“Or something comes up like the push mower, and someone thinks: ‘Oh, I need one of those, mine is going on the fritz. This is a great opportunity for me to get what I need, but also support a great cause,’” she continued. “When they bid on it the money goes straight to the cause of child abuse prevention here in Madison County and benefits the resource center and all their programming.”

The center works with families that are at risk for child abuse or have exhibited abuse in their past history and been referred by the court or different agencies. Parenting programs teach parenting skills and methods of diverting the urge to hit or abuse children.

To make the bidding process more convenient, first-time bidders are registered and then given a number. Any future bids are streamlined by using that same bidder number, and the caller can forego repeating the set-up process. In fact, if someone bid last year, he or she is already registered under the previous bidder number.

“We’re mailing out 1,600 postcards to people with an already established bidder number,” added Clark. “They will bid and use the number from the postcard, and they don’t have to re-register. They only have to give their bidder number and name.”

Callers are informed of the previous bid on the desired item and what amount will beat it. But the bidder must continue to watch the item on television to make sure no one tops their price. If they are outbid, they can call again until the time elapses.