ERIN TIERNEY/CHRONICLE PHOTO
Springfield‘s Theresa Elliott receives her box of desserts from Springfield mayor Sean VanGordon at this year’s Dessert for Dinner fundraiser. Proceeds benefit OASIS, a day program for homeless families with minor children.
SPRINGFIELD – Eight desserts, 127 boxes and a ton of community support recently raked in $9,000 for OASIS, a day program for homeless families who have children in Springfield.
The fundraiser, “Dessert for Dinner: Favorite Things,” organized by Catholic Community Services of Lane County, aimed to both support OASIS and to highlight the local bakery scene.
Eight bakers donated sweet treats and volunteers distributed them on April 24, asking people to vote for their favorite treat after the last crumb.
“We had a ton of local folks just wanting to participate. They list all the way from Sweet Life Patisserie to (Sanity Chocolate), a firefighter who runs a chocolate company” in Cottage Grove, said Sean VanGordon, Springfield mayor at the event.
This year’s winner, Juvenal’s Bakery in Springfield, won the “Measuring Cup” for its tres leches cake. Mad Batters in Eugene was awarded second place for its peanut butter hero.
“We help them meet their basic needs,” OASIS program coordinator Amy Wilson said. “The day program provides a small respite from the streets. We help them overcome some of the barriers that are keeping them from housing. We kind of walk with them along their path as they achieve the goals they have for their family.”
The project provides priority access to a coordinated set of services at multiple locations around G Street. The City, First Baptist Church and Head Start of Lane County – among others – function as a campus, with all services within walking distance.
