One day last April, I was scrolling through social media and saw a post from my friend and fellow educator Scott McKenzie. He had just baked homemade chocolate chip cookies for the first time. I’d made some cookies that day too, so I commented on his post, saying my cookies were better than his. Then I challenged him to a baking contest. We decided to donate the cookies to health-care professionals in our community to thank them for their heroic efforts during the pandemic.
Our donation was such a hit that Scott and I started Cookies for Caregivers, a Facebook group that invites others to bake treats for essential workers. In the first week, 30 volunteers joined. Early on, about four people each week baked cookies. Then Scott and I delivered them to the hospital.
Cookies for Caregivers soon spread to other states. There are now 82 groups across the United States and Canada, baking for all kinds of essential workers, including first responders, grocery store employees and mail carriers. Our original local group alone has donated more than 24,000 cookies.
Scott and I are thrilled at how our little baking challenge has grown. Cookies are such a great way to show appreciation to our frontline heroes.
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