Bake Sale for Cancer Council

6 August 2012
by Phuoc

A few weekends ago, a few girlfriends and I had a bake sale at Glebe markets to raise funds for Cancer Council. If you follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, you probably would have seen the flock of photos that I have posted in sheer excitement leading up to the day. Bel hosted the bake sale as part of the Cancer Council’s Girls Night In event, so on Friday night we congregated and turned her house into a sweat shop of baked goods. In one room we had girls making aprons for those that will be present at the markets, one group of girls were in charge of baking cupcakes, another decorating and packaging them, there were almond croissants and cake pops baking and I wrapped marshmallows into individual packs.

I love the markets but sadly, I don’t get to go often as it’ll take me a while to get into the city and honestly, I think I prefer to sleep in on the weekends. Although, I think it’s probably a good thing that I don’t get to go to the markets that often because within the first hour I had purchased a beanie, jacket and several ceramic cups. Damn impulse purchases …

An early morning start was required of us to reserve a spot in the markets. We missed the chance to score the prime position of being next to the cafe as we thought that when people grab a coffee, they can grab some baked goods as well. The stall that we managed to get was in and amongst the other stalls, most of which were selling pre-loved clothes and random knick-knacks. I preferred this location as it was in a more open space and I felt like we are apart of the markets.

As we walked around the markets, everyone would recognise us as “the girls with the charity bake sale”; the coordinated aprons definitely helped. Everyone was very supportive of what we were doing. The vibe from the markets was very friendly, and they were generally pleased to see new, friendly faces to the markets; some were disappointed to learn that this was a one-off event.

The goodies that I made were some of my favourite tried and tested treats that would be easy to pack into individual packages. These included vanilla bean marshmallows, chocolate and almond cookies and marblised chocolate and blueberry cream cheese cookies. I was extremely chuffed that people are buying and enjoying my baked goodies.

The store was up and running from about 9am but things started off pretty slowly at the beginning of the day. However, it might’ve been because we had set prices ($1-5, average price was $3) on the baked goods and that deterred people. We took a gamble and decided to scrap the prices and changed the sign to say “Donations for baked goods” and we also gave away samples for people to try. I think that must have guilt tripped people into buying things from us.

Everything sold out well before the markets officially close. Seeing as all the money we raised went towards Cancer Council, we were pleased to have raised $509.85 from the bake sale. Not a bad effort at all.

Throughout the entire process of baking, packaging and selling the baked goods, all I could think of is organising more bake sales to raise funds for various charities. One of my memories from my American holiday in 2010 was a food blogger bake sale that my cousin took me to in LA. I remember seeing a variety of cookies, cupcakes, cake and candy spread all over several tables and there was a sense of excitement in the air.

So I wanted to know, are there any bloggers out there that would like to participate in (possibly) monthly bake sales and whether or not you would visit us if there were organised? What charities would you like to see us raising funds for? Register your interest here.

21 Comments

  1. Tina @ bitemeshowme

    What a great cause Phuoc! Sounds like it was successful on all fronts – fundraising and baking πŸ˜‰ I’d definitely love to contribute a few baked goodies, especially if it was all going towards a great cause!

  2. Christina @ The Hungry Australian

    Great work, Phuoc. It’s wonderful that you and your friends put together such a great stall for charity. We might have to start something up like that in Adelaide.

  3. Nic@diningwithastud

    Great cause πŸ™‚ you girls are so fab!! The pinkness of your stall makes me happy πŸ˜‰

  4. Alana

    Congratulations on such an amazing result! Regardless of all that money raised it was so great of you and your friends to spend all the time and effort organising this for such a great cause. I’m registering my interest now.

  5. Phuoc

    Tina: Thanks!

    Christina: You should! It’s great fun and a wonderful feeling to give back.

    Nic: Hehe glad to hear that you approve πŸ™‚

    Alana: Thank you! Awesome πŸ™‚

  6. Sara (Belly Rumbles)

    Such a brilliant idea. I thought your prices were pretty good! Fantastic idea to have samples for people to try, that is always a winner, even when not raising money for charity.

  7. billy @ A Table For Two

    fantastic effort! Definitely would love to help at the future bake sale. A red polkadots with white lace apron for me thank you…. LOL

  8. Rita (mademoiselle dΓ©licieuse)

    Great idea! More than happy to supply baked goods but probably won’t be all that helpful with manning-the-stand =p

    The Cancer Council are a pet charity of mine, as well as The Fred Hollows Foundation. So many worthwhile charities, I’m sure you won’t have any trouble compiling a list to rotate through.

  9. Anna@ The Littlest Anchovy

    What a great idea for a great cause! Would love to help out in the future if you need!

  10. tastyfoodsnaps

    everything looks so miniature and cute! and also for such a good cause πŸ™‚

  11. Phuoc

    Sara: I though so too! But I guess giving away samples is always good, as I would like to try what I’m buying beforehand too!

    Billy: HAHA Thanks Billy! You know…. The aprons that we wore were either red polkadots or floral with white lace. I can lend you mine! :p

    Rita: Thanks Rita! Bake sales are a delicious excuse to raise money for charities I’d say πŸ™‚

    Anna: Thank you. I’ll keep in touch πŸ™‚

    Tastyfoodsnaps: Thanks πŸ™‚

  12. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella

    What a great idea! You guys worked so hard and in the sweetest way too (ok pun intended πŸ˜‰ ).

  13. Phuoc

    Lorraine: thanks for your kind words

  14. shez

    Your treats look so tasty and I love the cupcake donation jar!

  15. Kate

    What a great way to raise money and have fun doing it πŸ™‚ Your vanilla bean marshmallows would be whisked off your stand in no time with me around, they sound sublime! I live in the sticks otherwise this would be up right up my alley.
    X

  16. SarahKate (Mi Casa-Su Casa)

    Wow! You girls raised a LOT of money! Good on you. Looks like a fun time was had by all!

  17. Tina

    Yep πŸ™‚ seen your whole baking journey via instagram and facebook, this is awesome! I love the idea of baking for charity, and all the treats look really cute πŸ™‚

  18. Phuoc

    Shez: Thanks! Me too, it was quite fitting for the occasion πŸ™‚

    Kate: Thank you.

    SarahKate: Yes, we’re extremely pleased with how much we had raised. I’m excited about the future events.

    Tina: I love being able to help out wherever possible. And what a tasty way to do it as well! πŸ™‚

  19. All You Do Is Eat

    Oh yum! Wish I’d known about this earlier! What a wonderful thing to do! Well done girls =)

  20. milkteaxx

    that bake sale looked amazing! i volunteer at the cancer council and the heart foundation, and i think a bake sale could go a long way in terms of collecting funds! nice job!

  21. Phuoc

    All you do is eat: There will be an event soon I’m sure πŸ˜‰

    Milkteaxx: Thanks! I love the idea of selling baked goods to raise money for charity

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