Making the World a better place.... ONE COOKIE AT A TIME! That is the mission of 9 year old twin sisters, Emma and Amy. In 2008, when the girls were 7 years old, they along with mom Alison, established Bake Me Home.
Bake Me Home grew from their desire to do something more for the homeless family shelter where they had volunteered together for 3 years. Their volunteer work began with collecting items for the Bethany House Shelter at the twins birthday party each year. In lieu of gifts from their friends, the girls asked for items for the shelter such as books, infants toys, and snacks for summer field trips. (What a great way to teach children about helping others.) Once the items were gathered, they delivered them to the shelter and prepared a homemade pancake breakfast for the families. The girls favorite part was always staying after breakfast to play with other kids at the shelter.
Desiring to help more families, Bake Me Home has expanded to include the YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter, and the Tom Geiger Guest House in Cincinnati, Ohio and the YWCA House of Peace in Clemont County, Ohio. These organizations do a great job helping the families find new homes and we want to give them a present on moving day. "We love making homemade cookies with our Mom and we want other kids to spend time with their moms, and enjoy eating cookies in their new home. So we give each family everything they need to make their own homemade cookies, all in one of our “Bake Me Home” cloth grocery bags (because we saw a show about how plastic bags are bad for our Earth). Here’s what’s in the bag:"
- A $20 Kroger Grocery Store Gift Card
- Jar of homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookie mix
- Mixing bowl
- Wooden spoon
- Baking sheet
- Pot Holder
- Spatula
- Toothbrushes (Family pack of 6) and a tube of toothpaste
- A booklet of recipes donated by the Nutrition Council of Greater Cincinnati and printed by our friends at Mt. Washington Presbyterian Church
What is really amazing about these awesome kids is that they did not stop with their tote bag program, they have started 2 additional programs that complement Bake Me Home! They have a modified version of their Tote Bag program working in conjuction with local food pantries. They also have started the Bake Me Home Family Portrait Program. The Family Portrait Program has to be, without a doubt, the program that makes the biggest impact for the least money. For approximately eighty cents worth of ink and paper they have seen mothers cry as the only picture they have of their kids comes to life. What an awesome way to make a difference!
I am so impressed by these 2 AWESOME young ladies! They truly represent what this blog is all about. Finding a need and doing what you can to make a difference! Thanks to Mom & Dad too, for never telling the girls that they are just kids... they can't make a difference! KIDS CAN AND ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE! Amy, Emma and Mom.... YOU ROCK!!
Get Involved:
Donate to Bake Me Home.
WE NEED YOUR HELP! Even little bits of money can be a big help. For example, only $5.00 will buy enough brown sugar for 30 jars of cookie mix!
Check out the BAKE ME BACK HOME fundraiser page and send cookies to a service member while helping support the work of Bake Me Home.
If you are interested in a volunteering opportunity or donating 5x7 frames or potholders, send an email to cookiegirls@bakemehome.com regarding your specific interests.
Bake Me Home on FaceBook.
Source: Bake Me Home
No comments:
Post a Comment