A member of St. Columban Parish in Loveland, Sexton recognized the potential of raising funds for Darfur by selling doughnuts in a school full of teenage boys. He established Donuts for Darfur in May 2008. Sexton requested doughnuts from Kroger stores in Northside, Colerain, Loveland and Mason, Busken Bakery in Hyde Park and the Ridge Donut Shop in Pleasant Ridge, all of which have generously donated their stock.
Proceeds from Donuts for Darfur benefit Jewish World Watch’s Solar Cooker Project, which Sexton learned about from his friend, Deborah Backman, whose synagogue has been involved with the project. The Solar Cooker Project provides solar ovens to the people of Darfur who must live in a refugee camp.
“I felt it would be a great project to work for,” said Sexton.
The doughnut sales required some early morning for the St. Xavier students. Sexton, Finke, Iannacci and Beaucage would awaken before dawn. By 4 a.m., the friends were on their way to pick up as many as 500 doughnuts at Busken’s headquarters and 900 doughnuts from Ridge Donut Shop. Loading the doughnuts took 30 minutes. The friends arrived at school by 7 a.m., and sold out of doughnuts, costing $1 each, within an hour.
Sexton raised $1,275 at the start of the 2008-09 school year, and had collected $6,600 by May.
(Story continues below)
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
“It was a blast,” Sexton said. “The school cafeteria would shut down for us so we could sell doughnuts. We had a lot of cooperation at St. Xavier.”
Sexton’s father, Pat said he remembers his son spending late nights making preparations for the doughnut sale. Sometimes his son went to bed a few hours before he left for work.
His mother, Kathy marveled at her son’s ability to manage his schoolwork, apply for college and maintain his doughnut sale.