Coronado residents and Navy “brats” Katie, Jamie and Jessie Hearther with Megan Butcher at the 2012 bake sale.
The Third Annual Veterans’ day bake sale for Wounded Warriors will be Monday, November 11, 2013 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the corner of 10th Street and E Avenue. Good eats baked by the girls will include chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip brownies, banana muffins, chocolate chip banana muffins, hot chocolate triple chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin mochi (gluten free), oatmeal cookies, snicker doodle cupcakes, gluten free brownies, carrot cupcakes, rice Krispy treats, chocolate dipped pretzels, citrus sugar cookies, mini banana loaves, lemonade and more. We will also feature snacks for your canine friends.
Katie, Jamie, Jessie, Megan and Emily believe in giving back, especially to those who have given so much to us. Your donations will be gladly accepted in exchange for yummy treats. All donations will benefit the recreation therapy program at Naval Medical Center San Diego and The Wounded Warrior Project.
Emily Butcher helps advertise the Veterans’ Day bake sale last year.
How did this tradition start? The morning of Veterans’ day, 2011, five months into living in a new community and going to a new school, her father deployed with the USS Ronald Reagan, Jessie Hearther woke up with a purpose. I remember Jessie waking up that morning and asking if she and her sisters could bake. Sure, I said. Then she added, “I want to have a bake sale for our service members.” Here is my youngest child asking if she can take time out of her day to do something that will benefit others. In our family, we call that a “no brainer”, as in, it doesn’t really take any thought, it’s a go! We began baking immediately. While Jessie and I made a trip to the store for some necessary ingredients, the older two, Katie and Jamie, started mixing. We baked for four straight hours, setting items on a table in front of our house as then were finished baking. The girls experienced a fair number of people passing. There was more foot traffic than usual on Alameda as spectators made their way to North Island to enjoy the NCAA basketball game on board the USS Carl Vinson. The girls talked with customers, met some neighbors and collected $132 in donations that day. They sent every penny to the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP). WWP was gracious and in return sent a certificate and wrist band to each of our girls as a thank you.
Katie, Jamie and Jessie felt good about what they accomplished and decided a bake sale would be a productive, enjoyable way to spend Veterans’ day every year. Last year they were joined by friends Megan and Emily Butcher and changed the location to the corner of 10th Street and E Avenue. They also teamed up with local Yoga Teacher Mary Farley. Mary held a special Monday “Yoga on the beach” class and combined her donations with those from the bake sale. The bake sale alone raised $485. The money was donated to the not for profit Buddy Bowl, Inc. to benefit the Canine Therapy program at Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD). The canine therapy program identifies wounded who will benefit from a service dog and matches them with an appropriate animal.
Through the donation to NMCSD the girls met Recreation Therapist Marla Knox who is also the manager for the NMCSD wheelchair basketball team called the Wolfpack. Katie, Jessie and a friend traveled to the gym at Balboa Park for a basketball tournament and saw the Wolfpack compete. The experience was amazing. The athletes are quick, fit and competitive. They exhibit amazing resolve. It was exciting and inspiring to watch! This year the Wolfpack are the team to beat for the Division Three National Championship.
With the number of service members in our country being treated at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals upon returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan estimated at 900,000 last December (according to an article by Jamie Reno of International Business Times), it’s more important than ever to help those members of society who have sacrificed for the greater good. San Diego boasts a huge military community and this fundraiser is a small way for these young ladies to make a difference.
Jessie says the reason she and her sisters decided to keep doing the bake sale is because “I knew that once we did it, it would grow and we could raise even more money for our Veterans who have given so much!” Katie loves that “it gives me an excuse to bake and I love baking!” It’s a great exercise in time management, budgeting and preparation. Before the baking can commence, the girls make a list of everything they are going to bake and everything they need to purchase. It’s absolutely essential to make sure there are enough ingredients for everything, especially butter, sugar, eggs and flour. It is also important to decide the order in which the items will be baked. Our house has one oven, so there’s only so much that can be accomplished at once. Dough that needs to be chilled an hour is made before the mochi that needs to be cooked for an hour so that once the mochi is baked, the cookie dough will be ready for baking. Lastly, after everything is cooled, it must be wrapped to keep it fresh and labeled for the sale. Of course, signs need to be made too.
Jamie says, “I love baking with my family and doing it for a good cause. It’s all just a lot of fun.” Emily and Megan are proud that the money goes to help the wounded, especially those needing service dogs. They have a dog of their own and love animals.
Stroll on by the corner of 10th and E this November 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. , pick up some tasty treats and make a donation to help wounded veterans.
Kellee Hearther
Staff Writer
eCoronado.com
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