Oakville's Peru Dinner Fundraiser

Oakville just recently held their BIG fundraising event. Cornwall will be doing so at the end of February. Below is a brief write-up from one of the Oakville members. Neat stuff.

I've added a couple of my own editorial comments to the pictures below in green. Why you ask? Because I can! Because it's a blog that I control! Because I can't resist when I see some of the pictures that were sent : ) Enjoy!

Here's what Oakville Wrote:

What a festive event of fellowship and fundraising! On Saturday February 6th, ClearView Youth hosted a Peruvian Dinner for 140 guests.

The foyer of the church was transformed into a charming Peruvian village, complete with decorative limes and lemons at the center of each table. Authentic BBQ chicken was served with a bed of rice and red potatoe salad, while the steady beat of the Peruvian anthem rippled through the air, along with other fine tunes played by a live band.

After the dinner was served, and enjoyed by all, a most entertaining dessert auction began. It was entertaining because never before have we seen cream puffs sold for $130.00, or "Death by Chocolate" or "Healthy Piece of Heaven" over-priced at $160.00. (Death, Healthy, etc. Sounds like our health care system is going to be getting busier with all that sugar intake : ) )

Once everyone was sugared up, we proceeded into auctioning for goods and services by our very own, smooth and home-grown announcer, Don Berezowski.

Youth, Youth Leaders, and parents offered babysitting, landscaping, spa treatments, dinners and home renovations as items for bidding. There were also donations such as scarves, bikes and a Sens goalie stick autographed by Brian Elliott and teammates (yes, you heard right!).

(A Sen's Stick........I thought you were all LEAF's fans out there!!! How did you get a Sen's Stick?)

All together, it was truly a fantastic evening. Thanks to Ament, Donna, Cindy and Pastor John who planned it to a terrific tee! Perhaps the best thing that evening was

A. NOT just that all 23 youths and leaders were in full attendance (and full swing) before, during and after the grand event creating a gelling effect in preparation for the one-week mission trip.

B. NOT the fact that the dinner was warm and delicious, the desserts attractive and sweet, or that the plates and bowls that they all came in were finally washed by 10:38 that night.

C. And maybe it wasn't just that an astounding $9000.00 (conservative number) was raised through considerable contributions at this dinner (although this could be a close second!).

D. But, perhaps the very best thing we witnessed that evening was the coming together of young and old - hands, hearts and voices - to enjoy each other's company and to see God's goodness, grace and generosity poured over all of us, every single one. Thank you for such a great event! ...Bet you've never tasted a better cream puff!

Ament and Jon making the Peruvian potatoe salad, dicing up 30 lbs of potatoes!! (I bet they were sick and tired of "eyeing" those potatoes (tee, hee). )

The girls cutting up avocado for the salad.

(I know many in my group are now saying, "so, Ron, how do you spell avocado anyway?" It's a long story that you can ask me about sometime. : ))

Esther and Cindy with the centre pieces. Setting up for Dinner (Hey, is that the back of my nephew Kyle? Nice to see you working Kyle!) The band practicing in the afternoon. Giving the rundown of the evening to the kids (and I hope the Adults too!!!) Some of our delicious desserts we auctioned off! (Looks extremely yummmy!) The foyer was packed to the brim.

The YP holding the desserts for the auction.

(If I was holding those desserts, you might have had a few LESS to auction off!)

Our awesome actioneer/entertainer for the evening.

Pastor John, our MC for the evening.

Corinne might have found her gift in serving. Everyone did GREAT!

The fellowship hall was jam packed. Nobody could move, which was fine because everyone ate very well.

The aftermath of a great dinner.

"Somebody" enjoying the chicken.

(I know who that "somebody" is, eh Kyle. Always the joker : ) ).

Patty STILL doing dishes after 3 hours.

(Patty, where's that smile I'm used to seeing? I'm always smiling after 3 hours of dishes..... ok. ok, that's becuase I usually delegate it to SOMEONE ELSE!!!! (tee, hee). )

Cleaning up the dishes.

Having a GREAT time!

Scrubbing pans.

We ran out of hot water!

It was a long day, but an awesome one.

As one who has planned many events like this, I can echo those words. I'd say that even though the goal of events like this IS to raise some funds, there are many secondary [and even more important] outcomes.

1. The bonding that takes place within the group is paramount, especially if you are going to be spending a week or more together soon.

2. The church community & family and friends surrounding you with support by coming out to the event is quite important too.

3. The realization that what we do, whether a fundraiser for Peru, Haiti, or your neighborhood food bank, is done in community, by community, for [a] community.

Neat stuff!!!!!

I'm looking forward to getting to know this community, and Cornwall this weekend as we spend time together getting to know each other, getting ready for VBS, and getting excited about what God will teach us as we go.

More on that next week. .................