COMMUNITY
The Guild House Raising money for the community for more than half a century
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By Michael Wafford
Photos by Felix Adamo
For the past 53, years the Guild House has had one goal: raise money for the Henrietta Weill Memorial Child Guidance Clinic. This dedicated group of women and men has raised more than $1.8 million according to Guild House president Jeanne Cathaway. And they have no plans to stop. “It’s very fulfilling to know that what we're doing, as our hobby, is helping the community,” Jeanne said. “I can’t imagine any other group that I've been so happy about.” And they have a lot to be happy about, with only a crew of volunteers the nonprofit sets out to raise $40,000 a year, said Robin Star, a volunteer in charge of publicity. All this money is raised by selling food. Star said 60
Bakersfield Life
January 2012
the charity will usually raise an extra $5,000 to $10,000 throughout the year. All profits earned by the Guild House are given to their charity of choice. The volunteers, more than 140 who regularly show up and many others who pay dues, work simply to help people in need. Everything from book keeping and maintenance, to menu creation, food preparation and dish washing is done by volunteers. The Guild House employees two paid workers — a gardener and a night janitor. Monday through Friday the Guild House serves lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The plates are always $14.95. The meal includes an entree, soup and roll. Volunteers also use the sky blue twostory house set on red brick to sell hors d'oeuvres and wine during First Fridays.
Volunteer Ruth Goertz makes sure everything is ready for the lunch crowd who will soon be arriving at the Guild House.
They also cater weddings, baby showers and other events. Weddings start at $800 and other events start at $25 per plate. The winter months tend to be the busiest. In December, it is not uncommon for the staff, comprised of mostly retirees, to serve more than 100 customers. The biggest fundraisers however are three “fancy dinners.” The Guild House's Affair Extraordinaire happens three times a year. Each is a $100 per plate dinner, taking place in January, March and October. While they are preparing for their next Affair Extraordinaire the Guild House is also getting ready for another change. For the first time in its history, starting in its next fiscal year, the Guild House will have a male president — Jeanne's husband — Robert Cathaway. Robert became involved by helping