A Prince George woman recently turned her love of baking into a three-day pie-making frenzy for a cause greater than a fresh, warm dessert.
Marie-Anne Plouffe was tuned into the heart-warming story of 12-year-old Delaney Jones, by a colleague who works in the Lower Mainland branch of her company.
Jones had begun a fundraiser with her North Delta church youth group for 19-month-old Edmonton resident Kammy Bond. When Bond was 11 months old, she was admitted to the hospital was a severe cold, which quickly progressed to pneumonia, strep throat and finally
respiratory syncytial virus.
The virus caused the toddler's body to begin to shut down, causing her extremities to lose bloody supply. She spent five months in the hospital, during which time she had both of her legs and one of her arms amputated, with the disease also severely disfiguring her other arm.
Jones began raising money for War Amps Canada in a bid to support Bond and other children who had lost limbs.
"The story of this brave little girl has truly tugged at my heartstrings and touched the hearts of my family," Plouffe said.
"Mothers and parents all wish for healthy children who are born with 10 toes and 10 fingers. And [Bond] was, and then she just gets this virus. It was so sad."
After seeing the work Jones put in at such a young age to raise money, Plouffe wanted to do something to raise some funds for the cause as well.
With an abundance of apples on her tree that were picked and prepared with the help of her grandchildren Tianna, Makenna and Rylan, and the knack for making pies, Plouffe took 15 pie orders, at $13 a piece, at her office, went home and "baked up a storm," she said. She also made about five extras, which were quickly snapped up the next day when she passed out the orders.
"People in offices down the hall came running for pie," she recalled.
That day, she went home with 18 more orders, this time with the amount people willing to pay having gone up to $25, and called on her sister Jo Anne Raby for more apples and more helping hands.
"We were up until very early in the morning," Plouffe said. "I was only going to do this one night, and it just
snowballed."
Even though she was out of apples, the orders kept rolling in, with Plouffe's daughter bringing in $400 worth of orders. The pie frenzy expanded into pumpkin, banana cream and chocolate cream pies and another late night with her sister and her solitary oven.
As she neared the $900 mark, the donations continued to roll in, with the final pies selling for $40 and some people chipping in donations without even ordering a dessert.
When all was said and done, Plouffe had raised more than $1,100 in three days to donate to Jones's cause.
"I'm extremely proud of that young lady. She has a heart of gold," Plouffe said of Jones. "I was happy to do a small part or play a small part in helping her."
Plouffe also wanted to wish young Bond and her family well. "May they contine to be strong and maybe we will meet one day."
Although she's all pied out for time being, Plouffe said she will be baking again.
"Absolutely, that's what I do."
