Shindig organizers. Front row, from left, Paula Burrows, Christina Gorton, Brandie Devine, Cyndi Philbrook, and Kaye Moore. Back row, from left, Dan Gorton, Bill Moore and Jeff Philbrook.
Attendees of the 'Down Home: A Toledo Shindig' event dig in to barbecue Saturday.
Once again the Toledo community pulled together to help others — this time local schoolchildren in poverty — and enjoyed a delicious barbecue, scrumptious desserts, and silent and live auctions doing it.
Under auctioneer Mary Garrison, emcee Jeff Philbrook said Saturday night, more than 250 people had fun while emptying their wallets, which they did — to the tune of $34,000.
“It was a special night of community coming together to fill a need for our Toledo school students,” said Cyndi Philbrook of Farmers Insurance, one of the sponsors of Down Home: A Toledo Shindig held at Bonanza BBQ downtown.
Planning for the event began after Paula Burrows, a managing broker at Windermere Centralia, posted a notice on Facebook asking if anyone would like to donate to the Windermere Foundation and help local schoolchildren.
For three decades, the foundation has donated a portion of proceeds from every home purchased or sold by its agents to support low-income and homeless families. Since its beginning in 1989 in Washington, the foundation has grown to include 10 states and raised more than $38 million to help provide shelter, food, emergency assistance and children’s programs in local communities.
While enjoying dinner with clients at Bonanza BBQ one night, owner Dan Gorton asked if he could help sponsor an event for the foundation to benefit Toledo schoolchildren with basic needs. Burrows, Gorton, and his wife, Christina, joined with the Philbrooks, Brandie Devine, and Bill and Kay Moore to form a committee, which met for months. I remember receiving a flier about the shindig at the Big Toledo Community Meeting in March.
Toledo Superintendent Chris Rust spoke from his heart about kids in chaos, challenged to survive without basic necessities, children that school officials see daily. More than half of Toledo’s schoolchildren qualify for federal free and reduced lunches, he said.
“In addition, one in 10 of the kids you see going to school here every day is considered by the federal government to be homeless,” Rust said.
He urged people to pick up their bidding paddles and “open your hearts and wallets.” The money raised would be used for basic needs, things that low-income families couldn’t otherwise afford, such as fees for a child to participate in sports or a teenager to enroll in driver’s education, receive a license, and perhaps find a job.
“There’s just a variety of little needs that come up that we see all the time, that most people can’t see, and that we’re not going to be able to tell you about,” Rust said.
As I gazed at the people gathered around the tables draped with red-checkered plastic, I thought of the children my mother saw as a school nurse in Battle Ground, children who have lost their parents or grandparents, sleep on a friend’s couch, arrive at school in ill-fitting mismatched clothes. Most parents do the best they can, but they don’t have enough money. It’s nice that Toledo educators now can tap into this fund to help children in need.
“You can’t take it with you so you’ve got to give it back,” said Dan Gorton, who opened Bonanza BBQ in Toledo in February 2016. “What better way than to help the next generation?”
Burrows described Saturday’s event as “amazing.” So many businesses and individuals donated auction items, food, and time to the shindig. The Gortons provided the Bonanza BBQ — ribs, pulled pork, cornbread, and macaroni and cheese. The Crowded Kitchen Catering Co., operated by Keith and Lorinne Christensen-Birdwell, the parents of Rylee, who recently underwent brain surgery, donated salads and fruit. Tony Braanco and Gubmint Cheese performed music. Small Acts of Kindness provided beverages. Dozens of people donated baskets, services, desserts, and big-ticket items for the auctions.
“One hundred percent of funds raised will benefit the Toledo School District children with basic needs,” Burrows said. “A thank you to our sponsors, volunteers, auction donors, and the crowd — all were very generous for this great benefit for a great cause.”
Olga Miller of Napavine attended the shindig.
“I made a commitment to support local charitable organizations and events some time ago, believing charity begins at home,” she said. “I am always impressed and proud of the generosity of local businesses and people who give of their time and resources to events like the shindig. I consider it a privilege to support and contribute to benefit events that help those in need in our county’s communities. Plus, you get to meet the nicest people.”
Comments on Facebook afterward raved about the event.
“So many wonderful people showed their support for our kids,” wrote Tina Murphy, who works with The Crowded Kitchen Catering Co.
“There is for sure something special about being a part of a small community where everyone comes together to support and help those in need,” wrote Devon Christensen, whose husband, Mike, teaches at the high school. “Tonight we linked arms to support kids in need in our community and my heart was so warmed by the giving I saw.”
“What a blessing to be able to witness all the love from our community,” wrote Rene Buck, an industrial electrician at WestRock Paper and Packaging in Longview.
It truly was a blessing. And now our children will be blessed.
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Julie McDonald, a personal historian from Toledo, may be reached at memoirs@chaptersoflife.com.
