Apple Annie’s Bake Shop recently brought back its patriotic cupcakes to help the Battleship North Carolina with its campaign to raise money for much-needed repairs.

The bake shop, which has served the Wilmington community for 30 years, sold red, white, and blue cupcakes over the Fourth of July weekend to raise funds for the renovations.

On July 15, Apple Annie’s presented a $680 check to the Battleship after selling more than 300 cupcakes. The bakery held a similar promotion last summer as well to give money to the campaign.

“It is important for us to support the Battleship as a national landmark and preserve her history,” Apple Annie’s owner Rob Cooley said in a news release.
Other local restaurants also have chipped in to the project. Last year, Front Street Brewery produced a Battleship Pale Ale, donating a portion of its sales, and several local McDonald’s sponsored “Big Macs for the Battleship” as a fundraiser.

The contributions are part of an overall Generations Campaign that Battleship officials have launched to pay for repairs to the ship’s hull and additions to the attraction site. The $17 million campaign is expected to fund a cofferdam so a steel plate can be cut from the ship’s hull and repaired, a veterans-inspired walkway built around the ship and an expedition trail cut through the marsh.

While Apple Annie’s recent check is small compared to major corporate donations to the campaign, such as $1 million from Duke Energy Progress, the efforts harken back to the Battleship attraction’s history of raising even small amounts of money from the community as symbols of support.

When the idea was first pitched more than 50 years ago to bring the ship to Wilmington and save it from its scrap yard fate, a “Save Our Ship” campaign included change donations from schoolchildren across the state to build public support.

“The Battleship is greatly honored by Apple Annie’s Bake Shop’s outreach and generosity," Capt. Terry Bragg, executive director for the Battleship North Carolina, said in the release. “Their customers also made many additional donations as they remembered giving their nickels and dimes to bring the ship to Wilmington in 1961. It is humbling to know the support we continue to receive from the residents, and we are grateful to them.”