PyCon: PyLadies Auction 2020 Cancelled

With the in person cancellation of PyCon US 2020, the PyLadies Auction as we know, could not possibly have happened. Upon further investigation, we are deeply sad to announce we have decided to forgo the PyLadies Auction in its entirety for 2020.

This decision has been a difficult one. We began the PyLadies Auction at  PyCon US 2013 in Santa Clara and have held it annually since. To not be able to celebrate PyLadies in our annual tradition together is a deep loss.

2019 PyLadies Auction

Why isn't the PyLadies Auction going virtual?

We considered running a virtual auction. However the mechanisms required to run a virtual auction have proven to be limited and not up to the quality that we expect for the PyLadies Auction. Additionally, we did not want to ask donors, or volunteers to violate social distancing practices by visiting a post office or other location for item shipments. In short, we want people to continue to flatten the curve by staying home and tending to themselves and their loved ones.  

Donors and sponsors

The success of the PyLadies Auction has always depended on the kindness and generosity of our donors. The 2020 Auction was set to inspire many with an incredible set of donations.

We want to thank the following individual and corporate donors, who already committed to donating this year: Debra Ansell, Thein Htay Oo, Mariatta Wijaya, Novetta, Zapier, Katie McLaughlin, The Beeware Project, Naomi Cedar, and Lynn Root. 

We often receive a majority of donation commitments within two weeks of PyCon . We would like to thank the donors that have consistently donated in the past. It is the coming together of the community that helps us put together such a great event year after year.

Finally, we would like to give a special thank you to our sponsors for this year: Heroku and Rebellion Defense.

What to do with donations

We are asking people to hang onto their donations until next year. We understand this can be difficult. We understand that a year can be a long time. If you need a reminder of your auction item that you were intending to submit, please email us at pycon-auction@python.org and we can set that up for you.

(From left to right) Lynn Root, Lorena Mesa, and Katie Cunningham carry a portrait of Guido van Rossum, 
donated by Capital One in 2019. Guido van Rossum smiles in the foreground.

Donate Money!

We understand that some of you will still want to support us in our endeavors. We appreciate that greatly. If you would like to donate directly to PyLadies, please visit our donation page.  Because of financial losses from PyCon, we want to encourage you to donate directly to the Python Software Foundation as an individual or as a corporate sponsor, because without the PSF and PyCon, the PyLadies auction does not exist.

from Planet Python
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