How to raise $434.75 in 5 minutes

What a day!

I don't know that I've ever talked about my cake decorating hobby on this blog... In 2007 I took cake decorating classes at the phenomenal Bonnie Gordon school. I learned so much in 6 weeks!! Over the last few years I've been applying my skills in various cake endeavors including 2 wedding cakes and a variety of celebration cakes, including the monthly office birthday cake. It's at the point now where my coworkers are upset when I don't make the cake (and when I don't make it we get a Dufflet cake, so their love of the Ashley baked goods MUST be genuine!!)

When I sent out the first email about the bake sale, there was a lot of buzz and excitement around the office. People starting asking me questions about what I was making, confirming the date, asking if they could bring tupperware, so I started to think it could be a pretty successful event. One of my coworkers even offered to donate some of her baked goods which was so thoughtful!

The contenders:

Chocolate cupcakes with vanilla or nutella swiss meringue buttercream

Banana Split Cupcakes (banana cupcakes with SMBC, chocolate ganache, walnuts, sprinkles & a cherry for good measure - inspired by Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World)

Coconut Lime Cupcakes (from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World)

Chocolate chip cookies, white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, oatmeal cranberry cookies, chocolate chip oatmeal bars and coconut mud bars:

(I made Joey try everything as I was baking and decorating as the things I had made were not Ashley-friendly. I'm looking forward to trying some gluten free baking in the future, but for the sale I wanted to use tried and true recipes that I knew were going to be a hit! It also made portion control a lot easier in the kitchen!)

Everything laid out and ready to go at 10:50:

The bake sale started at 11:00. Here was the scene at 11:05:

My coworkers honestly mobbed the boardroom at 11:00 sharp. My boss took some pictures throughout and later showed me the chaos that ensued. I turned around to take money from people and I didn't see the table for 5 minutes, and when I looked back basically everything was gone. People were handing me money, giving me donations and telling me to keep the change. It was incredible!! I was so touched by their generosity and enthusiasm for the event and was met with praise and lovely comments all throughout the day. 

Their donations totaled $434.75 bringing my fundraising total to an amazing $1674.75 and there is still a month to go to the walk!!

My original fundraising goal was $500; never did I think that I could help to raise over $1600 with time to spare. I've been giddy all day and I'm so thankful to work in a such an amazing, friendly supportive environment. I feel so blessed!!