ASHVILLE – The Chautauqua Safety Village is looking to expand its target audience of events, hosting a soup and bakery auction recently to raise money for the village’s youth-themed events.

Associate Director Lisa McLaughlin stated the soup and bakery auction was initially conceptualized two years ago as a way to expand the target audience of events. McLaughlin stated that most of the events that the organization hosts are geared toward children. This event not only switched that up by being more geared to adults, but also gave a way to honor the various individuals that are essential to the organization’s operation. These individuals included volunteers, board members, and residents that continue to support the safety village in its endeavors.

Mclaughlin noted a unique aspect of the competition, that being that the soups are tasted blindly. Mclaughlin stated that the soups are all lined up and assigned a number for people to refer to it by, preventing anybody from knowing which restaurant contributed which. 3 C’s Catering took home first place with the title of Golden Ladle Winner, the Two Gingers Inn received second place with their Irish Coddle, and Maple Roads LLC took home third place. Other organizations that brought soups included Sandee’s Bakery and Deli, the Ashville General Store, La Cocina Della Nonna, Wendy’s in Lakewood, and AJ’s Texas Hots. Other locations that contributed baked goods included Wegmans, Davidson’s Family Restaurant , Bob Evans, Tulips Brunch House, Tops Friendly Market, U – Take the Cake, The GypsyMoon Cake Co, Killa Kookies, Farm Fresh Foods, Panera, and Hurlbut Church Meal Ministries.

McLaughlin stated that this year’s event drew in about 50 people from around the area. Funding that was raised by the event will largely be dedicated toward growing the organization’s safety education training. These trainings are meant to help better prepare residents for difficult situations, hopefully making members of the community safer in the process. Topics can include fire safety, traffic safety, distracted driving, CPR, first aid, bike safety, and more.

“What sets us apart from traditional education is that whatever children learn here, they then practice here. So for example, if they are learning traffic safety, where they are learning how to use stoplights appropriately and all of that, we send them out in little power cars to drive around the village while following the rules,” said McLaughlin. “We really focus on the practice, and the ‘do’, here.”