MANILA, Philippines - The St. Joseph Foundation held its annual Christmas bake sale earlier than the previous years, and with very good results. It was held at Paseo Ciudad of Ayala Center Cebu on a Saturday, chosen for a mall-wide sale. Imagine the crowds.

This supreme effort entailed intense preparations and logistics. That meant busy hours for all the august members of this energetic group, starting with president Amelia ?Mem? Castillo La O, treasurer Lulu Mendieta de Aboitiz and secretary Tina Cruz Ebrada. VP Lourding Marquez was out of the country.

Most of the members of the foundation prepare their homemade delicacies and persuade their friends to do likewise. Everything is donated to the bake sale, and proceeds go to various charity projects. Funds are augmented by a raffle draw of major and minor prizes.

Bestsellers

Sale day came and long before the mall opened, the ladies, clad in colorful Christmas aprons, were at Ayala Center. When the mall opened, a throng immediately headed for the bake sale.

First to go, and oddly enough, were the Spanish-style sausages of Lulu Aboitiz. They had mostly been pledged, but there was enough chistorra until its sell-out at 11 a.m. That?s when Elena Chiongbian Young came and swooped a bagful.

Myra Magsaysay Sun was tending her sugar-free cookies, also gone in no time. Maricar Longa Mendezona?s pile of pili puddings dwindled fast, too. The till boxes were manned by Rosebud Rivilla Sala and Maribel Ayesa Antunez.

Maricar Gonzalez Perdices was in charge of boxfuls of cream-topped pastries, much to the amusement of husband Tintoy Perdices, who sauntered by on his way to his favorite coffee shop. All-around salesgirls were Tessie Javier, Teresin Adad Mendezona, her sister-in-law Teresita Moraza Mendezona, Julina Pando de Muertegui and Maritere Moraza de Rotaeche.

In came Gema Luisa Pido pushing a huge trolley filled with goodies, mostly freshly baked crusty French bread from Gustavian. There must have been 100 loaves. Oh yes, they multiply, chuckled chef Robert Lilja, who had to replenish.

Home specialties

Bicol delicacies were brought in by Toots Torres, with Conchita Taylor attending to avid buyers. Annie Osmeña Aboitiz had brought one of the many specialties of her home cuisine?fresh lumpia. Now you saw it, now you didn?t.

Anna Marie Llamas Dizon came into view at the peak of the bake sale with her cousin Charina Zaragoza, who lives in Madrid and was here for a day. They headed to the raffle ticket table.

?Come and buy your raffle tickets. Here, here, look at the prizes,? called Carmen Adad Campbell, who was assigned to this activity. She had ready volunteers in Chinggay de Veyra Utzurrum and Kingsley Medalla, who offered booklets and helped people write their names and addresses.

They had brisk sales and almost ran out of tickets. No surprise, with all the major prizes on display. There was jewelry donated by Amparito Llamas Lhuillier, plus Timex dress watches, lacquered bowls and those beautiful products from the St. Joseph Foundation?s crochet project.

The crochet project is what occupies the St. Joseph Foundation all year round. It provides livelihood to a dedicated group of women and their husbands who have seen the wisdom, and profitability, of learning the craft. The items are for sale at the home of Lulu Aboitiz on Bauhinia Drive during regular office hours.

Raffle

By 3 p.m., most of the items in the bake sale were gone. It was time to start the raffle, hosted by UK Honorary Consul Moya Jackson. People in the crowd were randomly asked to draw the winning stubs, and there were some surprises. A little boy drew his own, and got his prize, naturally!

As luck would have it, Madame President Mem La O won the grand prize?a 21-inch colored TV set.

?I did not expect to win,? she said, adding that all she wrote in the stubs was MEM. There?s only one Mem, a chorus of friends retorted, ?And how many tickets did you buy??

Soft-spoken Mem won?t say, but she?ll say ?Thank You? to all those in St. Joseph Foundation who put the bake sale together, and to all who helped, bought delicacies, participated in the raffle and more.

Happier than anyone else are the beneficiaries of the endeavor: University of Cebu High School scholars, Sacred Heart School Vocational Unit, Ermita Feeding Program, the Hospitaliers? Therapeutic Center, Banilad Center for Professional Development, Kalinangan Youth Foundation, Siervas del Plan de Dios, Little Bamboo Foundation and School for Badjao Children.