Strawberries. Juicy, sweet and delectable strawberries were on everyone's mind this past weekend at the Strawberry Tea fundraiser for the Bowen Island United Church at Collin Halls. Two days of celebrating treats ranging from delicious strawberry shortcake, chocolate dipped monster-sized strawberries, to perfectly crafted strawberry pies to pints of fresh mouth-watering fruit lined up near the baked goods table all in the name of raising money for the Little Red Church.
The event, which also featured a silent auction, a craft sale and a barbecue, raised close to $10,000 for the cause, minus some food costs which are still being calculated. Rev. Shelagh MacKinnon pins the fundraiser's tremendous success on the dedicated efforts of the people involved, "I am always so incredibly inspired when I see the love my congregation puts into our Little Red Church."
Having had an insight scoop as a volunteer for the fundraiser, I can attest to the incredible planning skills of the organizers, who looked after every detail making the event seamless. What a task it must have been. Dozens of volunteers - ranging from the bakers and the cooks, the teams of people who helped set up and clean up, the chefs flipping burgers, the ladies serving tea, the volunteers at the baked goods table (oh, the restraint they must have had not to eat all the goodies themselves), to the moms and their children running the kids corner for some young entertainment - all collectively put in hundreds of hours to pull this off.
Rev. MacKinnon says she is thrilled with the outcome and the funds raised will contribute greatly to sustaining the small church in the year to come. But beyond adding the funds to the church's small coffers, she is ecstatic about another outcome: "the sense of people enjoying being together - these are the images that I am taking away with me."
