Donuts are a 'sweet' fundraiser in Hoonah
Majors Kevin and Tina Bottjen have been stationed in Hoonah, a small village in Southeast Alaska, for the last one and a half years. In an island town of less than a thousand people, inaccessible by anything other than sea or air, their fund-raising options are limited at best.
So when Major Kevin saw the opportunity to start a donut shop in a town with no bakery, he jumped at it. After some cursory research on-line he crafted 12 unique homemade powdered sugar recipes and in November, General’s Doughnuts – named for General William Booth – opened for business. They sell doughnuts by the dozen, year round. “My personal favorite is the pistachio donut,” says Major Kevin, “but our best sellers are the blueberry and apple cider.” Customers are asking for his recipes but he’s keeping that close to the chest.
As Hoonah is a cruise ship town, with dozens of large ships with hundreds of new visitors coming by every couple days during the summer, the Majors saw another opportunity. In May, they opened Lil’ Gen’s and began selling mini-doughnuts to tourists as well as locals.
Business was so good this inaugural year that the Majors are considering expanding their menu with nachos next year and probably hiring a part-time staff to help out. “We each put in around 600 hours this summer making and selling donuts and drinks,” says Major Kevin, “and our one main volunteer worked another 300. We were busy.”
Busy enough to sell over 80,000 donuts between May and September. Donuts that helped send six Hoonah area kids to Youth Camp during the summer, which is very expensive. Hoonah is 600 miles away from The Salvation Army’s King’s Lake Camp in Southcentral Alaska and it costs up to $1000 per child to send them to camp. “It’s been years since Hoonah Corps has been able to afford to send any kids to camp,” says the Major, “and we’re looking to send more next year.”
If business stays as good as it has been, Majors Kevin and Tina are hoping to purchase a bus to support their youth ministry, which they are also hoping to expand. “This is a small community. The kids do not have much to do. We offer the only troop programs in town, through Sunbeam, Girl Guards, and Adventure Corps. We’re it. Lil’ Gen’s is doing a lot of good for the kids in Hoonah.”
To learn more about the Hoonah Corps, please visit hoonah.salvationarmy.org.