Preparations are now underway for the SemDems next Silent Auction, a part of the Celebrate Blue Gala to be held on April 18, 2026. Proceeds will go towards helping our Seminole county candidates be a big part of the Blue Wave in the upcoming election!

What to donate:

1. A group of related items in a basket or other container ($50 or more in total value).
2. Assorted items to be incorporated into a basket by our team.
3. A service, tickets, events, or experience.
4. Gift cards or certificates.
5. Large baskets or other decorative containers such as a wine rack.

We thank you in advance for your contributions! Check out the additional information below or contact auction@semdems.com with any questions.

In order to organize everything, donations are due by March 15, 2026. You may bring physical items to the General Meeting on the 2nd Thursday of each month. Or drop them off at the SemDems office at 250 S. Ronald Reagan Blvd. Ste 114 in Longwood. The auction volunteers appreciate your completing the required donation form at the office or online (use button below.) Please check office hours and do not leave items outside. Be sure to label with your name.

If you‘re donating a Service (e.g. computer repair) or Event/Experience (e.g. fine dining or a boat tour), please provide a description and your contact information. 

Here are examples of physical items to donate:
• Wine and spirits
• Small appliances
• Quilts, kitchen supplies, home decor
• Pet toys, supplies, snacks
• Gift cards and/or gift certificates
• Current fiction, nonfiction, cooking, and other books
• Kits, games, puzzles, LEGOs

NOTE: All items must be in new or like-new condition. Also, we cannot accept outdated books, clothing, artwork larger than 9 x 12 inches, or anything that’s too fragile.

Auction bidders enjoy Services, Events, and Experiences (and are a great way to promote a business!):
• Custom cakes or other edibles for a special occasion
• Tickets to a sports event, comedy show, or other performance
• Tutoring or mentoring
• Cooking, mixology, sewing, dance or other lessons
• Guided painting class or other creative activity
• A stay at a vacation condo or hotel

Last but not least, we need large baskets or other containers we can use to assemble collections of related items. For example, a Movie Night basket could have gourmet popcorn and other snacks, a movie trivia game, and mugs with hot cocoa packets inside, all packaged in a large popcorn bowl.

Themes are optional but here are some examples if you’d like to gather a group of items:
• The Great Catsby (fab supplies for kitties)
• Time for Tea
• Golfing Goodies
• Don’t Worry, Beach Happy
• We Got Game Night
• Picnic in the Park
• Let’s Get Cooking
• We Scream for Ice Cream

• • • Please support the 2026 Silent Auction and donate today! • • •

Project 2025 is a comprehensive program developed by the Heritage Foundation that aims to change the balance of power in the United States government by increasing the powers of the Presidency. A primary objective is to abruptly remove thousands of career federal employees with years of expertise in specialist areas in order to replace them with people who have been screened for loyalty to the President.

More in-depth information and the source documents can be found by searching for “Project 2025” online. An excellent online resource is now available where you can choose a topic such as Climate; Democracy; Drug Prices, Education, etc. to find a summary statement and the page number(s) in the Project’s Mandate for Leadership 2025 document. On Low-Income Familes, for example: …eliminate food stamps for people who do not have a job or are not looking for a job. [p 299] The link to this helpful resource is www.25and.me.

The overall program is based on four pillars:

Pillar 1: A detailed policy manifesto that spells out numerous right-wing goals and plans

Pillar 2: A Personnel Database to screen for prospective candidates to install in government agencies

Pillar 3: Free Online Training 

Pillar 4: The 180-Day Playbook, whose contents have not been made public

Pillar 1 is the ominous policy agenda Mandate for Leadership 2025: The Conservative Promise, consisting of over 900 pages of detailed plans. These policies are intended to be implemented immediately if the GOP wins the Presidency and control of the Congress in the November election. Many if not most Americans are not aware of its radical content. Below are a few examples:

Increase the power of the President/White House over all agencies such as the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security.

Reclassify career civil servants via Schedule F so they can be easily removed if they don’t conform to White House wishes.

Delete terms such as sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and reproductive rights from every federal rule, regulation, contract, grant, and piece of legislation that exists.

Restructure the FBI and Department of Justice to align with White House priorities.

Eliminate the U.S. Department of Education.

Allow taxpayer funds be taken from public schools to pay for private and religious schools.

Allow private schools to set their own admission processes. Do not require private school students to take standardized tests.

Eliminate taxpayer funding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Dismantle the Department of Homeland Security (created in response to the 911 terrorist attacks.)

Privatize TSA screening.

Shift most FEMA emergency costs to states and localities.

Abolish the Gender Policy Council.

Define “sex” under Title IX to mean only biological sex recognized at birth.

Gender dysphoria is incompatible with the demands of military service; the use of public monies for transgender surgeries or to facilitate abortion for service members should be ended.

Enforcement of civil rights should reject gender ideology and critical race theory.

FDA should reverse its approval of chemical abortion drugs.

Ensure that training for medical professionals does not include how to give abortions.

Allow states to defy federal emergency care mandates (EMTALA) that require hospitals to stabilize pregnant women.

Revoke FDA approval of mifepristone, which is medication that’s used in 50% of abortions in the U.S.

Use the 1873 Comstock Act to prosecute anyone who sends abortion pills through the mail.

Require states with abortion services to report every patient’s residence to the federal government.

There are many, many more intrusive plans in Project 2025’s pages. It’s doubtful that the majority of freedom-loving Americans are in favor of most of these proposals. Although ex-President Trump recently claimed ignorance about Project 2025, he also contradicted himself by saying he agreed with many of its positions.

And, according to a number of sources, most of the numerous authors of Mandate for Leadership 2025: The Conservative Promise are former members of the Trump administration. Russ Vought was the director of the Office of Management and Budget during the Trump administration, wrote Project 2025’s policy about the executive office of the President, and was policy director for the Republican platform for the recent convention (July 2024). The candidate for Vice President, JD Vance, wrote the forward for the book version of the plan. The publication date has been delayed to be released after the 2024 election due to the public disapproval of the entire endeavor.

A few false rumors have been going around. At this time, Project 2025 does not call for ending no-fault divorce, a complete ban on abortions without exceptions, a ban on contraceptives, raising the retirement age, teaching Christian beliefs in public schools, ending marriage equality, banning Muslims from entering the country, or abolishing the FDA or EPA.