Written by Kenzie James // Graphic by Ben Evans
Local nonprofit Imagine and Believe hosted their fourth annual “Dessert Auction Extravaganza” last night.
Imagine and Believe provides clothing, supplies, food and community for foster and adoptive parents in the Searcy community.
Founder Christine Faith said this resource is needed to help foster families with the expenses of caring for the children they take in because Arkansas’s Department of Health and Safety only gives foster parents about $13 per day.
“Our goal here is to let foster parents know they’re not alone,” Faith said. “The community cares about the mission God has given them.”
Faith said she had the idea for the dessert auction when Imagine and Believe was looking for a fundraiser to organize because charities do not often host dessert auctions.
“We just felt like it was a neat way to do a fundraiser at a time of the year where there’s not a lot of other fundraisers,” Faith said.
This year’s dessert auction was the first one volunteer Susan Harrington was involved in. Harrington has been working at Imagine and Believe for the last four months after being a Court-Appointed Special Advocate with the DHS.
Harrington said she was excited to be part of the fundraiser for the first time and that she helped decorate and set up the desserts.
Harrington said she found Imagine and Believe when she stepped back from serving as a CASA.
“I needed something to do to still help children,” Harrington said. “I have just fallen in love with [Faith’s] mission.”
The auction was hosted at the Searcy Country Club, where it has been all four years. Leah Ruddell, the country club’s group coordinator, was in charge of creating the floor plan and decorating for the auction.
“It’s always been a real successful event out here, and we always enjoy having them out here,” Ruddell said. Ruddell said the fundraiser, which is a silent auction, receives donations of items like Easter baskets from companies and businesses in Searcy. All the desserts are made and donated by individuals in the community.
Faith said women from different churches make their “signature” desserts and that the auction allows them to share their work with the community.
The fundraiser also helps Imagine and Believe share more about their mission with the community. At each auction, a different foster parent will make a brief speech about their experiences.
“It’s been really neat to see what an impact that’s had on the community,” Faith said. “A lot of people don’t understand foster care, but these people are missionaries.”
