Wishing Star benefit planned for Wednesday

Carrie Brown, a Spokane transplant who sells candy for a living, has come up with a plan to combine chocolate and charity.

For every box of chocolate Brown sells, she is donating 10 percent of her earnings to the Wishing Star Foundation. Brown and Wishing Star also are organizing a wine and chocolate benefit at the Glover Mansion on Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m.

Caterina Winery is donating the wine. Jonathan Holden, premiere chef at Spencer’s for Steaks and Chops, will create two chocolate desserts.

A self-described softie when it comes to giving, Brown said she was inspired to get involved with Wishing Star in August after listening to board member Tonya Conklin at a business support meeting. Conklin spoke about Share-a-Wish, a program that helps children suffering with life-threatening illnesses.

“I wanted to give them a check for a large amount of money right then,” Brown said.

However, logic told her it would have been irresponsible to dip into her bank account. As a recently divorced woman from England, she wasn’t exactly swimming in the expendable-income pool.

Brown moved to Seattle in December 2000, where she developed a technology business. She said the earthquake of February 2001 was too big a scare to stay in Seattle. She moved to a sensible location – Spokane.

“You have to understand, I lived the majority of my life 35 miles from London. I’d never been around earthquakes,” Brown explained.

Brown married a Spokane guy and began to depend on his income as a real estate agent. When the marriage fell apart earlier this year, Brown said she needed to start a business or returned what she described as her true passion – selling chocolate. A pastry chef by trade, Brown also had worked as a sales representative for chocolate companies in the U.K.

“There is nothing about chocolate I don’t know,” Brown said emphatically.

She also knew she believed Dan’s Chocolate was some of the finest she’d tasted. The nine-year-old company imports raw chocolate from Switzerland and makes itsproducts in Boston. Brown became the independently owned company’s Northwest sales representative.

“I can count on three fingers the number of people who have not said ‘wow’ after they’ve tasted this chocolate,” said Brown, who rarely leaves her Spokane Valley home without a satchel of samples.

To get business rolling – and to help Wishing Fund – Brown launched www.wishingstargifts.org, a Wishing Star Web site where she sells chocolate and other gift items.

“I thought it was wonderful,” Wishing Star Executive Director Holly Stenson said. “It helps with our exposure to make sure we have the service for the children who are struggling with life threatening illnesses.”

For information on attending the benefit, call 744-3411.