Angel Acres bake sale raises $3K for hay fund

With muffin tins and secret recipes, Jo Deibel of Angel Acres Horse Haven Rescue and supporters cooked up a hay fundraiser last month filled with pumpkins and spice and everything nice.

During a marathon bake-a-thon that ended Nov. 20, Deibel joined Patty Winkler, Clare Schmidt and Fran Burns in a professional kitchen to bake nonstop, and fundraise for the 20 horses housed at her certified nonprofit charity.

At the end of a 12-hour stint in aprons, the ladies highfived each other with hands reddened from constant scrubbing: They’d raised $3,400 to pay for hay and feed.

“We baked literally all night on Nov. 20th to get the orders done,” Deibel says. “Our hands felt like they were falling off! But it was totally worth it.”

Always the innovator when it comes to fundraisers and publicity, Deibel, who launched a nationwide billboard campaign against horse slaughter, figured the nostalgia of an old-fashioned “bake sale” could warm hearts, and help horses at the same time.

Jo Deibel, right, says goodnight after a long, long night baking

“We made pumpkin loaves, apple and cranberry loaves and cupcakes. Everything was homemade,” she says. “I didn’t use old family recipes, but I found some online that I’ve tweaked and people loved them.”

Based on the success of this year’s sale, which shipped goodies all the way to California, and into Kentucky, Deibel says she’s planning a second one for sometime in the near future.

“It was so much fun!” she says. “But by the last day I have to say I didn’t want to see another pumpkin muffin for a long time.”