That's A Wrap! Our 1st Annual Great American Golf Tournament

 Great American Golf Tournament Follow Up

Our Take Home Bags & Centerpiece

Month's of planning and within a day our 1st Annual Great American Golf Tournament is over.  For all of you out there dancing to the sun gods, many thanks! We were graced with a gorgeous 80 degree day with lots of sun and the day's events from registration to saying farewell went off without a hitch. Together we raised about $3,900! (final total to be determined by the silent auction results).



Thank You To All Our Wonderful Players

Methuen Fire

Comprised solely of friends and co-workers, the field of players for our tourney was just outstanding.  It was our goal to create an event that people would enjoy and look forward to each year.  To see so many supporters join us for our first ever Great American Golf Tournament was heartwarming and motivation to revisit the event in 2012...which is already in the works!

The lovely Mandy!

 To Our Wonderful Volunteers Thank You!

 We could not have done it without you!!  A big fat thank you to Mandy and Abbey who did an unbelievable job throughout the whole tournament, Lisa of LI Designs who took most of our pictures and my mom Sharon who helped get things rolling at registration.

I'd also like to send a very warm thank you to Dennis McCarthy of Lazarus House Ministries who, even though was not on the volunteer roster, showed up (twice) to donate his time.  What incredible support!

The Incredible Fred

To My Wonderful Husband Fred

Like I mentioned on The Friends of Kevin Radio Show, "It always seems to start with Fred..." and without a doubt, this golf tournament was all Fred.  He got the golfers, ran the games, he made the speech at the reception, heck* he even came up with the idea!  To have him hop on the bake sale band wagon with me and be so excited about doing it all over again next year is phenomenal.  We have truly become a family fundraising for No Kid Hungry...and that's just plain awesome.


To Our Wonderful Sponsors, Vendors & Donators

1st Hole

KBK Sports who hosted the silent auction and whose founder is the VP of The Lowell Spinners.


Blast Mixer Smoothies, Lemonade and Skinny Alternative Energy Drinks for hosting a table at the registration area and making a charitable contribution to our tourney.

Click Here For The Full List of People Involved
 
A Big Fat Thank You to Merrimack Valley Golf Club!  

The View From Registration/Clubhouse

 Awesome, awesome people!  I showed up well before I was expected (a habit of mine) and was greeted by the most exceptional staff.  From the help with set up to coordinating the tournament, these guys were top notch.  We heard from just about every golfer that the course looked incredible and played well.  Merrimack Valley Golf Club



Incredible Food From Simply Elegant Catering!

Breakfast's Coffee & Pastry Table

Simply Elegant Catering provided us with the most incredible guy -Andrew- to manage the meals served at our tournament.  He bent over backwards for us and was a great addition to the tournament staff for the day.  Sam and Michele were very accommodating and really made a huge impact on the success of the day.  Also, they donated all the left over food from the tournament to Lazarus House Ministries' emergency shelter. 

Other Fun From The Day

1, 2, 3...Shoot!

Carts were driving around the course offering samples of wine, scotch and tequila. I know, I know- It sounds like a bad idea, but the golfers loved it!

Posing for the camera

Bobby (right) and my wonderful husband Fred (left)

No, we're not kidding.  This guy actually shot the worm....

The Putt Off

Our 11 Finalists

The Peanut Gallery! Or should I say hecklers.

Dennis Gillespie, who didn't make the $5K putt (sorry Dennis!)

Cookie Central's 3rd Annual Great American Bake Sale Continues

We've had a CRAZY July campaigning for Great American Bake Sale! 
Our Cookies With Care online promotion was a success.  6 care packages were bought and over $100 was raised for No Kid Hungry.  Again, a huge thank you to the folks at Lazarus House for helping us to set up and promote this campaign! Our bake sale at The Meat House and 4th of July (well 3rd actually) on The North Andover Common brought in almost $650 and the bake sale at Philips Healthcare, hosted b the incredible Eve Lee, raised a whopping $4350!  I am thrilled to say we are at 36% of our fundraising goal....and we are not stopping.

What's to come?

We published in our last blog our plans for Great American Bake Sale's National Baking Week.  The Fat Baker Club site is in the works and we are so super excited about it's release August 29th.  Remember, not only can you save big and win big, but when joining during Great American Bake Sale's National Bakery Week 100% of your membership fee will benefit Share Our Strength!  Please stay tuned for our next blog with full details.
 

 We have a band! 
That's right folks, we have secured a band for our Great American Golf Tournament.  The incredibly awesome New Orleans style blues/jazz/funk band -The Swamptones- will be providing the entertainment for the dinner portion of our tourney!  Because we know many of you do not play golf (we certainly do not), we have available Dinner & A Show tickets for just $40.  Join us for an afternoon of great eats and awesome tunes all to benefit the fight against childhood hunger.


I know what I said;

I Tweeted on and on about the bake sale at Philips Healthcare being the final "bake sale" of the season.  Well...statement retracted!  Not even a couple weeks out and the bake sale bug struck again.  While the plans are in uber rough stage right now, the intentions are to bake sale while tail-gating at Gillette Stadium...because nothing can go wrong with that :/.  Probably not the classiest bake sale we will host this year, but I have a good feeling it will be a whole heck of a lot of fun!


Thanks For Reading! ~ Michele Gorham :)

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A Follow Up To Our Final Two Bake Sales of 2011!

Our Great American Bake Sale At The Meat House

How's Your Heat?

Talk about a hot, hot, hot bake sale!  Ill admit, I was nervous going into this event when I heard the temps would be in the mid-nineties and I would be sharing my tent with a lit grill.  But alas, the bake sale gods shined down and we came ever so close to selling out.  We were also graced with the presence of Heather co-owner of Planet Marshmallow (one of the incredible products sold at The Meat House).  A little tip, get the Peanut Butter Bash...incredible!  The days total was 2 dollars shy of $300, putting our Team's total to $1816.00 for the year. We'd love to hit that $2,000 mark before our Great American Golf Tournament (hint, hint).

Special Thank Yous

Thank you out to The Meat House of North Andover for letting up set up shop in front of their store, the event literally would not have been possible without their help.  Also, a huge thank you to The Meat House social media marketing department for their overwhelming support with Tweets and ReTweets before, during and after our event.  Thank you also to Denise Smith who purchased a Cookies With Care package which will be delivered to Capernaum Place and benefit the fight to end childhood hunger in America!  The reception at this event was one of the best to date!  Thanks to everyone who stopped to shop and learn more about Share Our Strength and Great American Bake Sale.

The Great American Bake Sale at Philips Healthcare (Andover)

3 buildings, dozens of bakers, a raffle, fresh squeezed lemonade and $4350.00 for No Kid Hungry! 

What an awesome, awesome, awesome event!  This was the 3rd year Great American Bake Sale filled the lobby(s) of Philips Healthcare with the event growing lager and larger every year.  To date, Philips Healthcare's Great American Bake Sale has raised $10,763.05!!

The Incredible Eve Lee everyone!

Many thanks to Eve Lee, hostess of the event, for the invite to participate!  Not only does Eve play hostess to this event, one of the most successful Great American Bake Sales in the country, but she also helps to coordinate Taste Of The Nation Boston, which is where we originally met this past April.  I love connecting with others dedicated to ending childhood hunger in America and the fact that Eve does so, so much for Share Our Strength and is literally minutes away is just great!

Bake Sale Participants: Some Inspiration For Packaging & Product!

One of the most common questions in The Bake Sale Neighborhood (a social platform for Great American Bake Sale participants to meet, ask questions and share advice on how to have a successful event) is in regards to what to bake and how to package it.  So here are some great sell outs that were at the day's event. 



Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods
I love the fact these were made by a Cookie Central Facebook Fan!  Laurie C. made these wonderful treats that added so much flare to the table..for the short time they were on it (Sold Out!).  She did say they were a bit time consuming, but if you have the time I would definitely recommend batching out a few for your next bake sale.



How adorable are these!?! Blue fondant stars on top these chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream.  Cupcake wrappers like these can be found at your local craft store.





Chocolate Covered Oreos on a Stick! 
These suckers sold, sold, sold.  They are easy to make and can be decorated with a variety of sprinkles.



Here's a creative and inexpensive way to package those individual cupcakes.  Simply drop the cupcake in a clear disposable cup, cover with plastic wrap and tie with a ribbon.



Give your individual cupcakes a bit of flare!  Sets of bags and cake (or in this case cupcake) circles are available at your local craft store



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Oh look, pie! A Follow Up To Our July 3rd Bake Sale

"Oh look, pie!"

We went pie happy for our 3rd of July bake sale on the North Andover Common!  While the pies didn't move as much as we would have liked, just about everything else on the table did.  Our table was loaded with Lemon Pound Cake with a Strawberry/Lemon Curd Filling, Coffee Cake, Cookies and Brownies, but the biggest seller of the day was none other than the good ole fashion Chocolate Chip Cookie Pop!  If I could find a way to put everything I bake on a stick, I don't doubt for a second that we would sell out at all our events.

Looking back at last years event, all 95 degrees of it, I must say we lucked out with a slightly overcast and much cooler day.  In addition to our baked products, we raffled of an Ice Cream Maker which was won by The Schwartz Family holding raffle ticket #881590. Congratulations and happy ice cream making!  The total for the day came in at $346.00 all of which has been donated to Share Our Strength and their efforts to ensure children at risk of hunger have access to nutritious food where they live, learn and play.

A huge thank you to all the wonderful people who came by our table!

More Bake Sale News!

BBQ & Cookies!

With a slight eep, we look towards our next event this coming Saturday (July 16th) from 2-6pm at The Meat House in North Andover!  Join us for FREE BBQ and cheap cookies for a cause.  Find details on our 2011 GABS Summary Page .

Our July Online Promotion Cookies With Care. 
Help to fight childhood hunger in America and acknowledge the successes of the residents of Capernaum Place working their way out of hunger, poverty and homelessness.  A special thanks once again to the wonderful people of Lazarus House who have helped us to put this promotion together!  Find additional information about this campaign HERE.

Registration is now open for Great American Golf Tournament
Join us for an exciting 18 hole scramble full of games, contests and other super exciting stuff!  Not a golfer? Purchase tickets for the dinner/raffle portion of our event! For full details and links to everything you need to know check out our Great American Golf Tournament Page


Find out more about how you can help in the fight against childhood hunger in America! http://strength.org

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Cookies With Care

A few months after opening our doors we stumbled across a bag of Dominos Sugar with a promotion for Great American Bake Sale during a late night pit stop for supplies.  Not only did this simple little promotion ignite in myself, my family and all of us involved with Cookie Central the want help the children struggling with hunger, but it gave us a plan how to do just that.  As our online promotions for the 2011 season draw to an end, we at Cookie Central wanted to do just a little bit more for those living in our own community and have decided to combine our efforts for Share Our Strength with the efforts of Lazarus House Ministries one of Merrimack Valleys most incredible anti-hunger/poverty organizations. 

During their more than 25 years, Lazarus House has grown from a homeless shelter to encompass dozens of programs and services designed to help individuals and families find shelter during the worst of times and build for themselves a secure and poverty free life. What's truly impressive is that, receiving less than 1% of their funds from government agencies, it is hundreds of individuals, families, businesses, corporations and organizations that constitute the funds and supplies used to provide these substantially successful programs and services. As was so eloquently said Lazarus House Ministries Overview 2010 video "We at Lazarus House have nothing to give but other people's goodness"

I am beyond thrilled to announce that this month's online promotion Cookies With Care will give people a way to show their support for the incredible people at Capernaum Place working to break free from poverty, hunger and homelessness. 

*Cookies With Care*

June 20th - July 29th

 
To purchase your Cookies With Care package today simply visit The Cookie Central Team Page and donate $20.00.  Each care package will contain 1 1/2 Dozen Chocolate Chip Cookies and 4 Classic Brownies.  Packages will be delivered to the individuals and families residing at Capernaum Place.

A special thank you to the folks at Lazarus House for all their help and support getting this promotion up and running!

 

 --->Order Here <---

Donate and Save For No Kid Hungry

*Donate and Save*
May 20th-June 19th

Donate to our 2011 Great American Bake Sale and receive a gift certificate for your next order!

Donate $5 and receive a 5% off coupon

Donate $10 and receive a 15% off coupon

How It Works:

Visit the  Cookie Central Team Page  to make your donation. 

Your name will appear on the donation honor roll

We will contact you via email to acquire the necessary information to mail you your gift certificate. 

Questions You May Have

Can the gift certificates be sent to anyone I choose?

Absolutely! If you want to use your gift certificate as a present just let us know when we contact you.

Do the gift certificates expire?

No, they are good until the end of time

Are there any restrictions?

No. Typically we do not allow combining specials, but

because this is a part of a fundraiser we have not included any restrictions.

What if I donated and still haven't heard from you?

We apologize! 

Please contact us at MyCookieCentral@gmail.com and

we will be sure to get your gift certificate in the mail right away.

And The Winner Is!

Dollar Days: An Online Raffle was the first of four online promotions for Cookie Central's 3rd Annual Great American Bake Sale.  With the money we raised through this promotion, Share Our Strength can help to feed 20 children for over a month.

A special thank you to everyone who as participated in our Great American Bake Sale so far!!

And The Winner Is!

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A Night Of Laughs For No Kid Hungry

Funny the way social media works.  People you may have never met, but work all of 1 mile away, suddenly jump into your life, only to make a huge difference instantaneously. 

We were contacted by Chris Flahive owner/partner of Chuckles Comedy Club (@ China Blossom) via Facebook.  Chris had caught wind of our Great American Bake Sale through another social media platform the North Andover Patch and made the decision to help us in the fight against childhood hunger in America.   Chuckles Comedy Club will be donating $5.00 to our Great American Bake Sale if you mention Cookie Central when purchasing your ticket on this coming Friday's event (4/8/2011).  But wait, it gets better!! The event will be plugged on 105.7's Loren & Wally show  (you know, Men From Maine...classic!) Friday morning.  I'd like to stop here, but it gets just a little better.  This week is The Cookie Lady's (me) birthday week {Yes, I do get a whole week}!  So needless to say, I will be celebrating my birthday at Chuckles Comedy Club on Friday and everyone who attends, be they friend or foe, will be participating in our 2011 Great American Bake Sale.  I believe the coined phrase "Life Is Good" applies.

For everyone who would like to join the fight against childhood hunger in America, celebrate The Cookie Lady being just a little bit older or both! Please join us at:

Chuckles Comedy Club

(@ China Blossom)

Friday, April 8th

8:00-On

946 Osgood Street

North Andover, MA 01845

(tickets are $20.00, $5 of which will be donated)

Dollar Days: An Online Raffle To End Childhood Hunger

It's game time people!  We are officially kicking off our 2011 Great American Bake Sale season with

 

*Dollar Days*

March 10th-April 10th

 

By donating $1 to
Cookie Central's 3rd Annual Great American Bake Sale

you will be entered to win a $50.00 Gift Basket! 

 

How It Works:

Raffle tickets are $1.00 

To purchase a virtual raffle ticket:

1. Visit The Cookie Central Team Page and click the Donate Now button to make your $1 donation
2. Remember to include "DD" with you're name so we can keep track of you 
3. Leave you're email address in the area that says "Personal Note"
4. We will fill out a raffle ticket in your name and drop it into the No Kid Hungry water jug

Sample Screen Shot For Anyone Who Is Confused

or

 

Join us March 19th at The Haverhill Taste Of The Town (BJs Wholesale Club) from 11-2 and

purchase your raffle ticket at our table!

(free samples!!)

 

 

The Winner Will Be Announced

We will be announcing the winner of this raffle April 16th via our YouTube Channel! 

(Please don't laugh at our pitiful channel) 

 

I will speak for a minute or so about how this new promotion went and what Share Our Strength can do with the funds we raised all while the neighborhood kids shake (vigorously  assuming) the No Kid Hungry water jug.  The children will then pick one ticket from the jug and announce to the world the winner of Dollar Days! We will all rejoice and feel good about taking one step closer in the fight against childhood hunger in America. 

 

Questions You May Have

 

Can I buy more than one raffle ticket?

YES! You can buy as many as you would like!  You will receive a raffle ticket for every dollar you donate

 

Can the winning basket be shipped?

Absolutely!

 

Can I replace the basket with a gift certificate?

Yes! Our gift certificates do not expire and can be split and used over the course of time

Why do I need to leave my email?
We will use this to contact you if you win (and ONLY if you win).  If you do not want to leave your email it will be your responsibility to check the YouTube Channel, this blog or our main site to see if you have won.

 

 

Do More With Your Holiday Order!

Share Our Strength Holiday Gift Tags

are now available with all Cookie Central orders!

By purchasing one of these $10.00 gift tags you are letting your friends and family know you too are making a difference in the fight to end childhood hunger in America! 

100% of all sales will help feed hungry kids!

Complete with a matching envelope, these 5x7 tags have room to write your own personalized message making them the perfect addition to any gift.

THANKS TO:

THE METHUEN FIREFIGHTERS UNION LOCAL 1691

~

The city of Methuen that has been facing mass layoff of civil service workers. In fact, just two months ago 33 firefighters in Methuen held pink slips in their hands, unsure of what the outcome of the city budget would be....still they donated!

The generosity of the union during such a hard time shows their dedication to their community and the importance of our cause.

I would like to send a special thank you out to my husband Fred, a Methuen firefighter. With the $200.00 donation made by his Local 1691 Share Our Strength will be able to fill the backpacks of 50 children full of healthy food to feed them and their families for over a weekend!

Thank You To Everyone Who Attended Our 2010 Great American Bake Sale

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It was in the 90s, but still you came!

We had an amazing turnout, selling just about everything on our table! The days totals were almost $400.00 bringing our season total to over $2000.00, all of which will help feed hungry kids in America! We are looking forward to selling off the last of our product today and will update everyone with our final totals once we have them.

Success at the MFA!

As I had mentioned in an earlier post...

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The instructors and recruit class 187 of the Massachusetts Fire Academy in Stow, MA have joined our fight to end child hunger in America. This was only possible because of the involvement of the fabulous people at Jake's, the food service providers at the academy!

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Jake's very generously offered to display our baked goods and signs in their shop, selling and collecting money brought in by the employees and recruits.

Over the course of a week we raised $115.00!

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As if their (Jake's) assistance wasn't enough, they offered to donate the money from their desserts sold the final week of the session!
I am proud to announce they raised an additional $126.00 this final week!!

~

It is wonderful to have such great people stand behind such a great cause!

With their help our total raised is now just under $1700.00

Thanks To The MFA, Recruit Class 187 & Erin (from Jake's)

As many of you may already know, my husband Fred is attending The Massachusetts Firefighter Academy in Stow, MA.

~

As part of Team Cookie Central, Fred agreed to ask Erin from Jake's (the food services for the academy) if she would be interested in helping to sell baked product to end child hunger. Erin was not only willing, but has gone above and beyond letting me send down cookies and brownies on multiple occasions.

~

The instructors at the MFA and Recruit Class 187 have been extremely receptive to our cause, many donating a little more than asked or even without purchasing at all! All of us involved are incredibly excited to see the results and I will post as soon as we have a definite number!

The Wonderful K and K Kreations!

Carolyn from K and K Kreations

has joined the fight against child hunger in America!

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K and K Kreations will be providing the ribbons and bows for our Cookie Gift Boxes. Carolyn will also be helping to spread the word about Share Our Strength and The Great American Bake Sale throughout her hometown of Duluth, MN!

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To find out more about Carolyn's handmade artificial silk floral arrangements/wreaths, or custom bows and boutonnieres please contact them at:

~

K and K Kreations

3721 Lavaque Rd.

Duluth, MN 55810

218-260-1354

www.kandkfloral.artsefest.com

A Huge Thank You To My Friends!

On April 10th Cookie Central celebrated being one year older with friends and family at

The Boardwalk Inn & Cafe

Hampton, NH

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We are pleased to announce our friends and family joined together to donate $290.00 to our 2010 Great American Bake Sale. With this money

Share Our Strength will be able to feed 11 hungry children for an entire summer!

~

These donations have also put us just $110.00 away from last years total!

An enormous thank you to everyone for such generous donations.

It made my birthday that much more special ~ Michele :D

Thank You to the Winner's Circle Running Club!

We would like to extend our thanks to the

Winner's Circle running club

Members generously donated to our bake sale and

purchased gift boxes of cookies

from team member Sharon Yu at their last member meeting

~

The money raised would buy almost 25 bags of food for a family at a food bank!

~

The Winner's Circle

is a running club with runners of all abilities, from casual to Olympic qualifiers.

~

The club puts on several road races every year

the Hangover Classic

the April Fools Race

Run For the Roses, which is a women's race

Trav's Trail Run

&

the Turkey Trot in Maudslay on Thanksgiving Day.

The "Circle" has always donated generously to various charities over the years.

~

To learn more visit the Winner's Circle Website

Thank You to Platinum Web Marketing

We would like to give a big fat thank you to Anthony from Platinum Web Marketing & Design for an incredible donation to our bake sale!

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Platinum Web Marketing & Design

2510 E Sunset Rd. Suite 5-421

Las Vegas, NV 89120

866-303-8047

http://www.platinumwebmarketing.com

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Platinum Web Marketing & Design

A Las Vegas based internet marketing company, providing local online marketing, internet marketing, internet advertising, search engine optimization, web marketing and web design services to all businesses nationwide that need or want to be found on the internet!

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Thank you Anthony for such a generous donation! ~ Michele :D

Thank You to The Cupertino Soap Company

We would like to say thank you to The Cupertino Soap Company! Your donation yesterday has brought us that much closer to our goal :)

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The Cupertino Soap Company

Cupertino, CA 95014

408-996-7088

http://www.cupertinosoap.com

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The Cupertino Soap Company

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Our natural soaps are hand crafted using only the finest ingredients and supplies available. Our hand crafted soap is not only beautiful, but wonderful for your skin. There are over 70 soap fragrances with aromatherapy

A Big Thank You To The Staging Fashionista

We would like to thank Mannie Tantawy "The Staging Fashionista" for making the first donation to our bake sale!

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The Staging Fashionista

"Dressing Homes To Sell"

Alexandria, Va

703-269-8330

info@thestagingfashionista.com

http://www.thestagingfashionista.com

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The Staging Fashionista provides professional and affordable staging services to homeowners and realtors. We declutter, depersonalize, accessories and rearrange a home to make it more attractive to potential buyers.

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Mannie, Your contribution was so generous! Thank you for participating :D