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Group holds bake sale for state budget

Valerie Cooper (left) buys baked goods from Nick Belanger (right), the Danville organizer for the Virginia Organizing Project, and volunteer Simon Staples in front of Main Street Coffee Emporium on Thursday.

By Catherine Amos
Published: March 05, 2010

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Bake sales are typically used to raise money for churches, clubs and community groups — not for state government budget shortfalls.

The Virginia Organizing Project, a statewide, multi-issue grassroots organization, held a bake sale on Main Street in Danville and in eight other cities across Virginia on Thursday to raise money for the more than $4 billion budget shortfall — and to make a point.

“We’re trying to bring attention to the $4 billion in budget cuts,” said Nik Belanger, VOP’s Southside organizer. “We could bake the best cupcakes, the best brownies, and its not gonna raise $4 billion.”

After 30 minutes of selling sweets — most of which were store-bought because volunteers backed out at the last minute, Belanger said — he and volunteer Simon Staples had raised $36. Belanger said they would pool the money raised from the nine bake sales and deliver it to Gov. Bob McDonnell in Richmond for the state general fund. The VOP also supports other efforts to raise money, such as increasing taxes.

“We’ve seen some barbaric cuts,” Belanger said. “There’s a right way and a wrong way to raise revenue. For us, it’s not just raising taxes across the board. It’s shifting the load off the backs of the middle class so the people who have more can pay more.”

Slashing the budget leads to fewer qualified teachers, said Staples, who worries about his kids in college.

“That’s hurting students,” he said.

The funding cuts are especially tough for a place like Danville, with already higher-than-average unemployment, Belanger said.

“This is hurting folks,” he said. “For a place that’s trying to remake itself, this is the last thing we need … It really touches every life in Danville, and across the state. We really need to start bringing new revenue in.”

The VOP has also held health care and budget forums in Danville and will hold another budget workshop next week.