Photos, left to right: Bob May (1939-2009); our Charity Auction Donation Room in 2015; Lalla Ward raising money for the Denville Hall trust in 2017.
It’s not just about fun and games… every year, we also like to spend some quality time raising money for a good cause.
The Bob May Memorial Charity Auction is Gallifrey One’s annual charity event, taking place on the Sunday afternoon at each year’s convention.
Our 2026 beneficiary was the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Greater Los Angeles County Chapter (NAMI GLAC) and our auction took place at the convention on Sunday, February 8, 2026.
NAMI Greater Los Angeles County (GLAC) is the leading countywide organization composed of grassroots-based chapters that promote wellness, recovery, equality, and dignity for individuals and families affected by mental illness and the community at large. NAMI advocates for public awareness, support, advocacy and education on a variety of mental health topics. As stated on their website, “mental illnesses are brain disorders that are biologically based medical problems. Untreated, they can cause severe disturbances in thinking, feeling and relating. This results in substantially diminished capacity for dealing with the ordinary demands of life. Mental illness can affect persons of any age and occur in any family. They are not caused by bad parenting and not evidence of weakness of character.”
NAMI was founded in Madison, Wisconsin by Harriet Shetler and Beverly Young. The two women both had sons diagnosed with schizophrenia, and “were tired of being blamed for their sons’ mental illness”. Unhappy with the lack of services available and the treatment of those living with mental illness, the women sought out others with similar concerns. The first meeting held to address these issues in mental health led to the formation of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in 1979. In 1997, the legal name was changed to the acronym, NAMI.
More details about NAMI Greater Los Angeles County can be found at their website, namiglac.org. They can also be reached on the NAMI GLAC Connect With Hope Warmline at (818) 208-1801. We are thrilled to be able to support NAMI GLAC this year as our auction beneficiary. Our special thanks to Traute Winters at NAMI GLAC for working with us this year!
Our 2027 charity will be announced soon!
The Bob May Memorial Charity Auction
The Bob May Memorial Charity Auction, Gallifrey One’s annual charity event, has raised over $250,000 for charity over the years for some very worthy causes, including the Foundation for the Study of Infant Death, the Downs Syndrome Association, the American Red Cross, the Dyslexia Scholarship Fund, the Hurricane Mitch Disaster Relief Fund, the War Child Charity, the Afghan Women’s Mission, the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the Juvenile Diabetes Association, the Starlight/Starbright Foundation, the American Heart Association, Actors and Others For Animals, the American Cancer Society, Direct Relief International, Pet Orphans of Southern California, Students Run LA, the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer, the Aimee Hoff Memorial Scholarship Fund, the Wounded Warrior Project, the LUMOS Foundation, the Denville Hall actors home, the Pop Culture Hero Coalition, the LASFS Building Fund, Project MotorHouse, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles, The Trevor Project, and in 2025, Cancer Support Community Los Angeles.
Gallifrey One’s annual charity auction is named in honor of our friend Bob May. Best known for playing the Robot on the 1960s television series Lost in Space, Bob was also part of our convention family — for over a decade, he was a mainstay at our convention as a programming guest, dealer, raconteur, and beloved auctioneer at our charity event. Since Bob’s passing in 2009, and with the gracious and continuing support of Bob’s family, the event has been perpetually dedicated to his memory, and the proceeds donated in his name.
As always, 100% of the proceeds of our charity auction are given to the year’s charity beneficiary.
The next annual auction will take place on Sunday, February 7, 2027 starting at noon. On Friday and Saturday, our Auction Donation Room will be open taking merchandise donations that will be put up for auction; your contributions are welcome (see below for details).
We Need Your Donations!
The Gallifrey One Bob May Charity Auction relies entirely upon donations of merchandise to auction for a good cause!
What are we looking for? In short: donations of science fiction, fantasy, comics, horror or genre related material, most especially Doctor Who and its spinoffs. This includes items from many different genres: a few examples include Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel Cinematic Universe/Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Harry Potter, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Supernatural, Game of Thrones, The Expanse, Stranger Things, Westworld, The Orville, The 100, The Prisoner, Blake’s 7, Outlander, Farscape, Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Stargate, Battlestar Galactica, Red Dwarf and the myriad comics-related TV shows and films; as well as anything related to science fiction film and television, SF/fantasy literature, comic books, or collectibles. Anything that has a tangential relationship to the SF/fantasy/horror genre which is in at least very good condition. Autographed photos, commemorative items, one-time prints, illustrations, etc. are also welcome. If you find it to be a valuable collectible, chances are good that others will, too. Just be sure: this is not a disposal service for items you wish to throw away!
If you have any questions, please feel free to email us.