Usually every April, staff and volunteers work to auction off hundreds of items before hundreds of guests, raising as much as $50,000 to $60,000.

And there are cakes.

Lots and lots of cakes.

Thus the name.

-Messenger file photo
Fia Hill, then-5, of Fort Dodge, looks over some of the many cakes available Saturday evening during the 23rd annual Domestic/Sexual Assault Outreach Center Cake Auction at the Iowa Central Community College East Campus in 2018.

But in 2020, the pandemic forced D/SAOC to put what would have been its 25th Cake Auction on hold. Then, in 2021, the omicron variant of COVID-19 hit both staff and clients. With staff out sick or simply exhausted, the decision was made to take the Cake Auction virtual for 2022.

From Thursday through April 12, supporters can bid on auction items to benefit the agency, which serves 20 Iowa counties, helping victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, trafficking, homicides and other violent crimes. Their 28-bed shelter serves men, women and children.

In most years, auction items include a cake, either homemade or from a bakery.

This year, winning bids will include a cake mix, premade frosting and a spatula with the D/SAOC logo.

One thing hasn’t changed: The need for D/SAOC’s services.

-Messenger file photo
-Messenger file photo Raelle Wilder, then-16, at right, holds onto an Elvis head cake during the live auction at the 23rd annual Domestic/Sexual Assault Outreach Center Cake Auction at the Iowa Central Community College East Campus in 2018. Her fellow Fort Dodge Senior High tennis team member Kathryn Cochrane, then-16, at left, got to hold a photograph of "The King." The package also included an Elvis lunch box.

Leah Bair, program development director for D/SAOC, said client numbers for the first three months of 2022 are up 25 percent over 2021. Many victims spent months trapped with their abusers, who were often unemployed or laid off, giving victims less chance for escape.

“One victim gave us a call while her abuser was at the gas station. We gave her a list of items to gather and things to do while he was in the shower,” Bair said. “After a few weeks we helped her plan her escape. A lot of our work is safety planning.”

While 75 percent of D/SAOC funding is from state and federal grants, the remainder comes from the agency’s resale store, the Key on Central, and the Cake Auction.

Bair hopes the community will once again show their generosity for victims of violent crime, albeit virtually.

And still enjoy some cake.

How to help

To view auction items:

go to www.DSAOC.com

(web site) or find D/SAOC

on Facebook.

Send donations to: Domestic and Sexual Assault Outreach Center, P.O. Box 773, Fort Dodge, IA 50501

Questions: Call 515-955-2273 (non-emergency number)

Auction items include:

• Oculus Quest 2

• Children’s Easter goodies

• Camping Package

• Restaurant/Pub packages

• ISU Football tickets

• Hawkeye Community Theatre tickets

• Scholarship to Iowa Central

Community College

Quick facts about D/SAOC

• In January, February and March this year, D/SAOC served 19 clients with 69 bed nights (nights stayed in shelter) in Hamilton and Wright counties alone.

• The total number of clients served for all 20 counties in D/SAOC’s service area in the same time frame was 346 clients totaling 1,041 bed nights.

• Compared to last year’s first quarter, those numbers have increased by about 15 percent.

Counties served

Hamilton, Wright, Webster, Humboldt, Kossuth, Boone, Story, Greene, Marshall, Hardin, Grundy, Franklin, Butler, Tama, Winnebago, Worth, Mitchell, Hancock, Cerro Gordo, and Floyd.