Benefit Success

Last night was the big benefit for Denean. It was a great success.

Friday I took off work, to help out with running around and picking things up. On my 3rd stop Friday morning....at the hospital where Denean's mom works as well as where Denean goes for her care....I was surprised when I walked in to get the items I was told to pick up. There was a 2-tiered cart FULL of brownies, bars, and desserts. There was also a huge box of silent auction items. I'm glad I had mom's mini van....there's no way all the stuff would have fit in to my vehicle nicely. After making a quick trip in the afternoon to the school I serve, I came back and made some red velvet cupcakes (from scratch)

(this picture was taken with them in the van, ready to head to town.) I also made a chocolate strawberry (lemonade) cheesecake. The people that bought it said it was good.

(Sorry about the picture. I tried about 5 times to get it the right way...not working.)

Saturday started bright and early....well, not so much bright, just early....at 6:30am. That involved finishing making food, gathering last minute items, making signs, and loading up 4 vehicles with stuff to take to town.

We all headed in about 10am, and then the real work began. Rearranging lunch room tables, setting up additional tables and chairs, putting up tables for the silent auction and setting out over 140 items for that. It was overwhelming. But, thanks to everyone that helped, things were ready to go by at least 4:30p. People began to show up well before 5pm, but that's okay.

Here's a glimpse at the dessert table. I don't believe this table was ever lacking in sweets. If you couldn't find something that you liked....then you are the most picky eater ever. :)There was a constant flow of people from about 4:45 until after 7pm. All in all, the night was a huge success. Even though there was a good amount of left over food, the place was always full of people.

Even though Denean was not able to be with us at the benefit, her parents, brother, and grandparents did make it in. But, thanks to technology, Denean was able to be with us via Skype. There was a laptop set up where people could stop and say hi to Denean and wish her well, in addition to rotating the laptop around so she could see the crowd. It was great to 'see' her there.

In the end, over $12,000 was raised for Denean (and Matt and families). Thank you to all for your thoughts and prayers for Denean. Please keep them coming. And thank you to the individuals and companies that donated items for the silent auction. Without those items, it would not have been nearly as successful.

If you would like to see some additional pictures of the benefit, please go here.