The sweet aroma of fresh-baked cinnamon rolls and picture perfect-homemade pies wafts through the Grand River Multi-Purpose Center. The delectable goodies are made to not only delight the culinary palette but to help raise money to fill in the gaps where state funding has dropped off.
Ron Wilder, board member for the Concerned Christians for the Community Incorporated, which oversees operation of the multi-purpose center, says that the center is largely funded by the state and that state money is drying up. Therefore, the center will have to come up with a bigger portion of their own budget and have been experimenting with different fundraisers.
Home-made cinnamon rolls were sold at GRMC for the first time in February and served as a fundraising effort towards the Center’s budget needs.
Doris Hussey, a cook at GRMC, made just enough to fill an order of 90 rolls at $1.50 each bringing the cinnamon roll sales to $135 in its first run. Due to the popularity of the rolls, the center plans to make the sticky treats into a regular fundraiser.
Tickets can be purchased for a home-made pie Monday through Friday each week for $1 and according to pie-maker Sharon Rardon, the center has raised between $20 and $70 per week on pie alone making the grand total of money raised at around $450.
Rardon stated that the first pie she made was a blackberry pie that brought in $69. Since then, she has made a variety of 10 inch pies including: chocolate, cherry cheesecake, Christmas pie, pumpkin, New Year’s cheesecake, coconut, cherry, pecan, Dutch apple, peach, and lemon.
Rardon also stated that she uses only home grown fruit from her family’s small orchard and makes the crust from scratch.
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