Contributed by Mike Feazel
An ad hoc group of Lakers organized a tea party Saturday that raised $6,000 for Lake Monticello Volunteer Fire & Rescue, and one of the organizers, Carol Sorber, said it might become an annual event.
Sorber came up with the idea to do a fundraiser after a Fluvanna Leadership Development Program class focused on first responders, including a presentation by Fire Chief Richie Constantino. “He made a big impression on me,” Sorber laughed.
Sorber is a big fan of firemen anyway: her father and two brothers were firemen. And she likes to do tea parties. “I’m pretty good at organizing things,” she said, so she asked Constantino if she could do a fundraising tea party at the firehouse. He was all in.
Sorber and five friends, with a sixth added later, prepared all the food, donating the ingredients and labor, and recruited enough attendees to the free event to fill an eight-person table each. “They all jumped at the chance to help,” Sorber said. Attendees were encouraged to make a donation to the fire department.
The menu included: Watermelon Goat Cheese Bites, Endive Boats w/Mandarin Orange, Walnut, Herbed Cheese & Balsamic Reduction, Apple, Havarti & Prosciutto Wraps, Cucumber Tea Sandwiches, Caprese Ladybug Toasts, Curry Chicken Salad Croissants, Blueberry Scones, Peaches & Cream Scones, Monticello Sweet Cream & Lemon Curd, Chewy Citrus Amaretti Cookies, Date Nut Balls, Earl Grey Chocolate Truffles, Orange & Lemon Macarons and about a dozen different types of tea.
The two-hour event included presentations by Constantino and Carol Linsey of the Fire Department Auxiliary, plus a tour of the fire house.
