Pine Township Neighbors – Sophia Hudock
5th Annual Clear Thought Foundation Bake Sale
After we baked 1,000 cupcakes and put together hundreds of assorted cookie, brownie, and cake trays, the 5th Annual Clear Thoughts Foundation Bake Sale raised $4,002.12 to find a cure for dementia. For the past five years, Rachel Felt (20), Chloe Napotnik (14), and I (15) have planned, organized, and baked every homemade cupcake. All three of us girls have had a family member who lost his or her battle to dementia, which only motivated us even harder to raise more money for the cause. Chloe’s grandfather passed away on Christmas day 2013; in January of 2014 Rachel’s grandfather passed away from dementia; and I was affected by the disease when my great-grandmother passed away in 2011. The three of us decided on our own that we were going to make a difference by organizing a bake sale to benefit CTF.
Chloe’s mother, Hayley Jameson, started Clear Thought Foundation (CTF) in 2010 after her father was diagnosed with dementia. CTF’s primary purpose is to raise funds to discover drugs and novel therapeutics (biogenetics, stem cells, etc.) to stop the effects of dementia and eventually end this terrible disease.
In 2011, the first year of the bake sale, we baked approximately 100 cupcakes and raised $400. For the 2012 bake sale we doubled the amount of cupcakes made to 200 and raised $1,200. At the 2013 bake sale we raised $1,900 from the 350 cupcakes and cookie trays we baked. At last year’s bake sale in June of 2014, the three of us were ambitious enough to bake 750 cupcakes and it paid off by raising an incredible $3,400. From 2011 to 2015, we have increased our production of cupcakes by 100% and our profit has increased by 100%.
Not only has the bake sale grown tremendously since its inception in 2011, but so also has CTF. In the fall of 2014, CTF held the Magical Memories Gala which raised over $68,000 for dementia research. In addition, CTF was able to award its very first research fellowship to Dr. Roya T. DePasquale, a distinguished neuroscientist who is an expert on neurodegenerative diseases. Dr, DePasquale recently finished her research fellowship and will soon be publishing her white paper this coming fall.
CTF is excited to announce plans for its next fundraising event. Please mark your calendars and save the date of Friday, November 6th, 2015 for CTF’s “Roll for a Reason Gala”, a Monte Carlo Casino Night featuring Celebrity Dealers; Poker, Black Jack, Craps, Roulette & Slots; Live, Slient, & Chinese Auction Items; Food, Spirits, Music, & More! This event will be too much fun to miss all while raising funds to fight dementia! CTF anticipates 400+ attendees.
The Pine Township community has been extremely generous to CTF, especially the bake sale. I would like to personally thank all residents who have chosen to attend, donate, and/or support our bake sale year after year. If you would like to become involved with CTF or be added to the newsletter, please contact Hayley Jameson at hayley@clearthoughtsfoundation.org for more information.
“We can do no great things, only small things with great love.” – Mother Teresa
