Donations

Since the beginning of time the girls wanted to hold a dinner and dessert silent auction. They brainstormed about what food to have on the menu and came down to two choices: taco salad or haystacks. Going with the theme of Mexico they decided to have a taco salad. Ocean went to Tim Hortons’ Taco Del Mar, and, Muccho Burrito and Taco Bell to no avail. Three weeks before the event she was getting disheartened, so I asked her to think about the people she knew, and who she thought was a kind generous soul. She thought of a local basketball coach who had given generous gifts to the team members when they won the championship, Dr. Deb Crowfoot. She was swept off her feet, only seconds after calling him, when his answer came simple and quick, “Yes.”

Other donations were just as important: UPS donating the printing of the tickets, Wendy Gibb donating $100 when the event was still in its infancy, donations from restaurants and businesses around the city. The vision was to have a dessert auction where people could bid on desserts served in restaurants and seen only in specialty shops. (you can read all the blog posts about the adventures.)

When we asked for donations from friends, many really stepped up creating:  masterful baskets, beautiful presentations, masterful decorations, combinations of cookies in a beautiful cookie jar. They took home baking to another level! Other cakes, cookies, brownies and squares stood their ground as family favorites bringing in more than would be expected!

At one point in the day I had been asked, “How many desserts do you have.” I did not know. We had 8 desserts to pick up from different businesses, some had been delivered the night before, others were being dropped off at the church later in the day. Some had been group together in baskets.  I guessed there were about 20. Then there was the art, and the certificates. In total I expected maybe 40 items. I printed off 60 bid sheets. We ran out. The church was willing to print 20 more. We ran out again. And for some items there were duplicates, so that the top two bidders “won”! It was truly amazing.

The donations are only half of the story. The other stories are still forth coming: the competitions, the rivalries, and the surprise of how much someone paid for a home-made dessert. There are stories behind some of the desserts: where they came from, who made them, why each person was asked.

Marion will be blown away to discover her cookies went for $60! Deborah was thrilled to get the cake plate with the flan. Romeo was deuced by the fact that Ocean’s grandmother Elda got the huge chocolate cake.  Sara was sad to know the trifle she had on Monday went beyond her reach at $25. And although Eileen was busy in the kitchen, Ron kept an eye on the cookie jar for her and got it. (Anyone who knows Eileen knows her cookies!) But Kathy was too busy in the kitchen to be able to keep bidding on Shirley’s cinnamon buns. I have never had one but now I am really curious about why it would start a bidding war! And Julie went home so happy, as a model she knew the value of the beauty salon products and salon straightener.

Stories, so many delightful stories; please share yours by commenting.

But the event's success was not only because of the donations but also because of the support Janelle and Ocean felt from their friends: The light of the future.