Student Megan Holtkamp wheels a cake into the Holy Trinity Catholic gymnasium in Fort Madison during a cake auction last month as auctioneer Mason Holvoet, right, calls for bids.
By Lindsay Steele
The Catholic Messenger
FORT MADISON — Students took turns wheeling 20-plus cakes into the Holy Trinity Catholic gymnasium during breaks from the girls’ and boys’ varsity basketball games on Jan. 17. Spectators made bids from the bleachers, hoping to take home one of the tasty confections.
With an average winning bid of $750, the culinary creations didn’t come cheap but the annual cake auction is a sweet deal for Holy Trinity athletes who rely on the proceeds for uniforms, equipment, referees and other needs.
“I can say without a doubt the level of support Holy Trinity Catholic has is hard to beat,” said Mason Holvoet, a 2020 alumnus who volunteers his auctioneer services for the annual fundraiser. “It’s always great doing this year after year and seeing how strong the support is for the event.”
The auction is the Holy Trinity Athletic Board’s largest fundraiser, said its president, Daniel Bendlage. School sports teams, clubs and organizations donate cakes and other sweet treats to the event. Themes — such as Disney, fast food and the ‘80s — provide inspiration to those who bake or commission the cakes.
This year’s assortment of cakes paid homage to favorite foods. The school’s culinary club baked and decorated a spaghetti and meatball cake, while the girls’ basketball teams commissioned a coffee-themed cake. The athletic board’s entry depicted items from the concession stand. “There are a lot of creative and neat-looking cakes” each year, Bendlage said.
The confections bring in anywhere from a few-hundred dollars to more than $1,000. HTC Foundation’s fruit-themed cake topped the 21 entries this year by fetching $1,500. The 2025 auction generated about $16,000 total. “Without this money, it’d be hard to support our athletics,” he said.
The fundraiser occasionally supports other causes. The athletic board donated half of the 2021 proceeds to ALS research in honor of Bob Mehmert, a school parent and longtime athletic board member who passed away from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Two years ago, the board auctioned off a special cake to support Holy Trinity Elementary student Emily Walker as she prepared to undergo a heart transplant.
The board hosted its first cake auction in 2020, drawing inspiration from similar events at other schools. In the five years since its inception, Holy Trinity’s cake auction has become an irresistible event. “A lot of buyers don’t have kids in the school system (anymore) and still come back” for the auction, Bendlage said.
