For Kim McGuigan, a table filled with cookies, cupcakes, brownies and other sweet treats is about much more than satisfying a sweet tooth. Each year, it gives her a chance to celebrate her daughter Jamison Novello’s life while helping others and bringing the community together.
McGuigan’s eighth-annual bake sale honoring Jamison will be held on Sept. 26 starting at 9:30 a.m. at her home on 35 Burtis Ave. in Rockville Centre. The event will feature an assortment of homemade baked goods, merchandise and opportunities to support causes that have become part of Jamison’s legacy.
“We try to mix it up every year,” McGuigan said.
This year, that will include a special table of New York Knicks-themed goodies along with cookies, cupcakes, brownies, candy kabobs, loaves, pies, and muffins. McGuigan estimates she makes about 75 percent of the baked goods herself, while many others contribute.
“I have so many people that donate,” she said. “People reach out [and say] ‘I want to bake this. I’m going to drop off this. I’m going to do this.’”
The sale will also feature hats and shirts displaying the words “You can,” a phrase that appeared on Jamison’s phone’s home screen when it was returned to McGuigan after her death.
McGuigan continues to make supporting local businesses part of the event. Rockville Centre-based SST Custom Embroidery is producing the hats, while Buoy 4 Clothing Company is making the shirts.
Cindy Cantanzano, who has helped McGuigan with the sale for about three years, is also returning. Last year, Cantanzano created decorate-your-own cookie boxes and cocoa bombs. This year, she is preparing scones and another item that has yet to be determined.
“I’m just trying to keep it local, trying to just support people who can repeatedly support us and just trying to give back in those little ways,” McGuigan said.
The bake sale has raised more than $55,000 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. It has also helped provide more than $100,000 in scholarships through a fund at Broadway Dance Center in New York City, where Jamison danced.
McGuigan said the scholarships help young dancers who might otherwise have difficulty affording the program.
“It keeps her dream going for me,” she said. “It helps these kids that maybe couldn’t take as many classes be able to do that.”
The event began on what would have been Jamison’s 16th birthday and has continued because of the response from friends, peers and community members.
“I didn’t know it would continue, but it was such a success,” McGuigan said. “And I got so much feedback, especially from friends and peers saying, ‘We needed that.’”
Last year’s sale raised $15,000.
For McGuigan, the annual gathering remains a way to give back while keeping her daughter’s passions alive.
“I view it as it’s her birthday party,” she said. “It gives back to both.”
