Hey Besties! In this season of giving, I’m thrilled to share the results of a special group of big-hearted home bakers who came together in the wake of Hurricane Helene. And more than anything, take a moment to recognize and celebrate the time, love, money and generosity they put forth to help those who needed it. Across the country, from 14 different states, cottage-registered bakeries and hobby bakers are baking a difference! I hope you’ll take a moment to appreciate their efforts and talent and may even be inspired to do something special in your corner of the world!
In The Wake of Helene
When Hurricane Helene hit in the last week of September, so many of us were shattered by the footage of the destruction and loss. Lives were lost; families lost everything, in areas that never expected such a disaster. I vividly remember crying for hours, day after day, seeing what fellow Americans were facing. The feeling of helplessness and the pull to do something was overwhelming.
My teenage daughter, who is a cottage registered home baker, and I discussed the situation and decided we had to do something. The next day, I threw out a call to action to my network of home bakers to see who wanted to join in the effort. Within a day, we had bakers from across the U.S., compelled and dedicated to baking a difference! We called ourselves Baking Besties in Action. Most of us had never even connected before this effort, but collectively we came together to do what we could for those who needed so much.
In Our Hearts Cookies
Everyone’s busy and has competing priorities and responsibilities! So, it’s a big ask for people to reprioritize their obligations, energy, time and money. But 23 bakers never wavered! We quickly organized, with a cookie design, shown below, and a charter to make and sell as many cookies as we could to donate to the cause. And every baker had the freedom to operate their fundraiser in a way that worked best for them.
Special shout-out to Brenna Wise, of Wise Bakes in Ohio, for printing and shipping the cookie cutter to the bakers who needed it! Thank you for stepping up to help facilitate this!
Everyone was welcome to either create this same design, put their own spin on it or create their own design. It was so fun to see everyone’s work! Here are just some of the awesome baked art that was created!
Baking A Difference participants!
Let’s take a moment to celebrate and recognize the generosity of these bakers from across the U.S., who donated their time, energy and money, so generously!
Over the course of October, these bakers donated a total of $6,641! That’s a lot of cookies, y’all! Funds were donated to Samaritan’s Purse (Samaritan’s Purse International Disaster Relief — International Relief), World Central Kitchen (World Central Kitchen), and The Cajun Army (The Cajun Army | Volunteer Disaster Recovery), which are all respected non-profit organizations serving the impacted communities. Individual bakers also had the option to donate directly to those they know in the affected areas of need.
THANK YOU!
A huge THANK YOU for all of these bakers for baking a difference! Every cookie counted! You’re such an inspiration!
And if you’re lucky enough to live in a community near one of these amazing bakers, I hope you’ll support them when you need delicious and beautiful baked art! These bakers stepped up to help those suffering and that is what our world need more of!