The fourth annual Tea and Bake Sale at Points West Living on Friday, Dec. 16 turned the assisted living facility's dining area into a hub of camaraderie and cheer as people came to visit and pick up some home-baked goodies shortly before Christmas.
The annual event was the brainchild of Points West employees Laurie Quast and Gerri McLean, who have volunteered their time to run it since the facility opened just more than four years ago.
In the week leading up to the tea and bake sale, McLean and Quast spend their evenings in the Points West kitchen, baking up cookies, bars, breads, tarts and other delicious treats which are then sold during the bake sale.
"Bake sale money goes back to (residents)," McLean said. "It goes to recreation, craft supplies, things the kitchen needs, that sort of thing. The new table cloths were bought with bake sale money."
Though a final tally from the event wasn't available by press time, McLean said she thought that the event brought in approximately $1,500. Of that, almost all of the money came from the baking , as less than $100 came in from the entry price of $2.
McLean said that she thought about 50 paying customers came through to buy their baking and enjoy treats and tea with the residents.
Marie Brown stopped in to visit and pick up some of the freshly baked cheese breads that the bake sale had in abundance.
"Isn't this amazing?" she said of the event. "And all of this looks so good. I've heard great things about the bread."
The tea and bake sale isn't the duo's only holiday volunteer endeavour. This year, the two have partnered with Stettler Crisis Aid to host a Christmas supper on Thursday, Dec. 22. The RSVP supper is free, and is designed to bring together people who may not have anyone to spend Christmas with for a traditional, home-cooked meal.
While the traditional Christmas dinner isn't a Points West project, the facility has kindly loaned the use of its ovens to cook the turkeys for the giant meal, which Quast said is expected to have about 150 people come through during the evening.
"This is something we've thought about doing," Quast said. "This just seemed to be the right time."