PUTNAM, CT – On Thursday, June 6, The QVCC Foundation held its annual Donuts for Donations event which sees the Foundation partnering with The Baker’s Dozen and WINY Radio to raise funds for local students attending Connecticut State Community College Quinebaug Valley. This year’s event, which started in 2014, continued the tradition of Foundation members stationed at the WINY Radio parking lot passing out Baker’s Dozen coffee and donuts in exchange for donations to the Foundation. As a creative twist, the 2024 event also featured a Donut Eating Contest with 11 community leaders competing to see who could eat the most glazed donuts in 2 minutes. Contestants also collected pledges from supporters, with all proceeds to benefit the QVCC Foundation. The combined total of donations added up to an event record of $22,000.
There were two champions that emerged from the Donut Eating Contest: with a total of $2,715 raised, CT State Community College Quinebaug Valley CEO Dr. Karen Hynick claimed the top fundraising award; the contestant who brought home the trophy for most donuts eaten was Killingly Hight School Coach Chad Neal, scarfing down a whopping 5 donuts in 2 minutes. At the conclusion of the contest, Ken & Trevor Cardinal of Baker’s Dozen announced they would donate an additional $1,000 in Chad Neal’s name in honor of his competition win. Other donut eating contestants included Amy Brunet of Brunet & Company Real Estate, Peter Deary of Deary’s Gymnastics Supply, Putnam Police Chief Chris Ferace, Day Kimball Healthcare CEO Kyle Kramer, Woodstock Academy Head of School Chris Sandford, Christian Sarantopoulos of the Law Office of Sarantopoulos & Sarantopoulos, Executive Director of the Northeastern CT Chamber of Commerce Elle Sherman, Executive Director of Northeast Opportunities for Wellness Tayler Sazhin and Jason Verraneault of NorthStar Home Loans. The Foundation thanks all contestants for supporting the event and putting their stomachs on the line. Additional thanks go to Foundation board member Jeff Rawson for chairing the contest and to his team at Rawson Materials for providing a rain location for the competition.
Donuts for Donations would not be possible without the generosity of The Cardinal Family at Baker’s Dozen, who have supported this event for over 10 years with delicious coffee and donuts. Thanks also goes to Gary & Karen Osbrey at WINY Radio for promotional support and for providing a home for the event each year. As the final fundraiser of the QVCC Foundation’s fiscal year, Donuts for Donations continues to be a fun, community-focused event with many former QV students, faculty and staff, as well as countless friends and supporters stopping by to say hello and contribute to the Foundation. Most importantly, all proceeds help local students achieve their educational dreams.
The QVCC Foundation was established in 1971 as a 501c3 organization to help those who otherwise could not attend college due to financial constraints by involving area business and community members in fundraising efforts. Today’s 25-member strong diverse group of community leaders continues to work tirelessly in support of the Foundation’s mission… to raise funds so that all residents of Northeastern Connecticut are provided the opportunity to attend QVCC regardless of income and to support educational excellence, technological advancement, and professional development at the College and to serve as the Regional Advisory Council to the College.