Every year, MHS holds a cake auction as a fundraiser. It is held at the boys’ and girls’ basketball doubleheader. Larger and more extravagant cakes are auctioned live at halves and between the two varsity games. Smaller cakes are auctioned in the silent auction throughout the whole event in the cafeteria. Slices of cake are sold in the commons during the day.
A lot of effort from the community makes this event possible. Athletic/Activities director, Mr. Henson, emphasizes the amount of work by saying, “There is a ton of preparation that goes into this event. It starts with a committee of four or five people who meet over three months in advance to talk about the theme, communicate to the public, and make sure we have everything set up correctly. With all the volunteers needed to pull off an event of this size. We probably have over 30 people that volunteer their time to work this event,” says Henson.
Not only is work put into the planning, but many people in the community make cakes to donate. Students pitch in as well. Chelsea Carlson, a junior at MHS, bakes the cake that her church donates.
“I’ve decorated cakes for birthdays in my family before, and now I make the cake as a service for my church. I make the cake the Muscatine church of Christ Donates,” said Chelsea. “I’ve been looking forward to making this cake for quite a few weeks, but by the 2nd day of making the cake I want to stop because it’s so many hours in the kitchen.”
Last year the 2024 Cake Auction reportedly made 41,122.80 dollars in fundraising, the most it has ever brought in. All of this money goes towards benefiting all activities offered at MHS.
Every year there is great community involvement which is one of the biggest contributing factors to having such a successful fundraiser. Big companies within Muscatine show their great support each year.
“I am amazed every year at the incredible amount of support that the Muscatine Community provides for this event. The cake auction has become a true source of community pride, which is evident by the large number of people that come out to the event and how generous companies and individuals are that they will generously donate hundreds and even thousands of dollars for a cake,” said Henson.
The MHS Auroran and all MHS Activities are forever grateful for what the community and fundraiser make possible for students at MHS.
“Personally, I would like to thank everyone for their great support of this event from the Booster Club that coordinates putting it on, to the companies, sports teams, and individuals who donate cakes. To those who actually make these beautiful pieces of art, and to the general community members who come out to bid and buy the cakes. We could not provide the services we do to our students without your incredible support,” said Henson.
