ADESA, a business unit of KAR Auction Services, announced that its ADESA Phoenix location recently hosted a charity auction that raised nearly $20,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). The event was held in conjunction with the auction’s Sixth Annual Legendary Sales Week events.

With Ford as a partner for this charity event, ADESA Phoenix auctioned two items: The first was a signed and framed poster depicting the many styles of Mustangs over the years, which sold for $2,000. The second item on the block was a 2002 Ford Thunderbird, which brought in $16,500.

Sports and music memorabilia sold through silent auction brought in an additional $1,000 toward the total donation.

“The crowd who joined us for Barrett-Jackson and our own Legendary Sales Week events brings a lot of excitement. After a visit from the JDRF Ambassadors—the kids actually affected with diabetes — that crowd is moved to make a difference with their generous donations,” said ADESA Phoenix General Manager Ryan Edwards. “Our auction supports diabetes research all year, but this event brings lots of people into the fold. That’s why this is one of my favorite weeks of the year.”

ADESA Boston, ADESA Buffalo, and ADESA Indianapolis also organize a variety of events each year to raise funds for JDRF and contributed to the purchase of the 2002 Ford Thunderbird that was auctioned at ADESA Phoenix. Since 2012, ADESA auctions have collected more $550,000 for JDRF.

ADESA and Ford have long supported JDRF, an organization focused on curing Type 1 diabetes, a disease that affects so many lives. ADESA joined the Ford Global Action Team in 1998 and has been partnering with Ford, the No.1 global partner of JDRF, in numerous fundraising efforts ever since.