Feeling blessed: Red Star Baptist Church fundraiser far exceeds its goal

Organizers were pleasantly surprised at the success of Red Star Baptist Church's fundraising dinner Friday.

The goal of the evening was for area churches to come together for a night and raise $5,000 for much-needed improvements to the church's youth activities building.

They did much better than that, raising about $8,000 after expenses, organizer Terry Crowell said.

"The community support was just overwhelming," she said.

Centenary United Methodist Church, La Croix United Methodist Church, Lynwood Baptist Church, Trinity Lutheran, St. Mary's Catholic Church and Cape First Church teamed up to help.

Carolyn Down, right, and Frankie Allison pick out desserts during a fundraiser Friday at the Red Star Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau.Glenn Landberg

In addition to fish and chicken dinners, the evening also featured a bake sale and silent auction. More than 50 volunteers were on hand to serve the food and drinks.

Hundreds of tickets had been sold in the weeks before the event, and an hour into it, Crowell estimated as many as 250 purchased tickets at the door.

"Events like these would usually draw about 100 people," she said. "That's why it's so important to do the event on-campus here at Red Star Baptist Church -- to get people used to coming here."

Their goal had been to feed people until supplies ran out. That didn't happen. "There were a lot of people who came in off the street just to donate but didn't eat," she said. "There was one person who came in and paid for a ticket with a $100 bill and just said, 'Keep the change.'"

That money will go to repairing the roof of the building across the street from the Baptist church, which houses a basketball court and a host of other activities for church youth, Red Star youth director Kevin Sexton said.

Volunteer, Mary McClary sets out more desserts during a fundraiser Friday at the Red Star Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau.Glenn Landberg

"That building has been there since 1972," he said. "Should that roof leak onto the basketball court, it would cause problems."

It's from that building Red Star Baptist Church feeds 500 people a month through its food-pantry program and hosts open-gym nights for the community.

Crowell said she and other organizers hope to make the multi-church fundraiser an annual event -- probably early April 2016 after Easter but before graduation season.

"It was a privilege for all the churches to work with Red Star, and it's our plan to do it again next year and hope to have more," Crowell said.

The various church communities should continue to work together, she said.

"There are no churches mentioned in the Bible," she said. "We, all of us, are God's people."

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627