Grade 7’s from St. Michael Catholic School made some scrumptious cookies for youth experiencing homelessness at Wyndham House as part of their Bake/Cook Their Day volunteer program.
The 12 students from Mrs. Sgrignoli and Mrs. Karkut’s grade 7 class, Avery Garrard, Gabrielle Lalonde, Julia Rocha, Olivia Haines, Sarah Gazzola, Maddy Pare, Sophia Stradiatto, Isabelle Peverly, Vera Sewell, Talyssa Bendo, Cailyn Scott, Abigail who did a mix of organizing and baking for Wyndham House’s Bake Their Day volunteer project which invites community members to bring in a homemade recipe to support their three Housing Sites: Bellevue & Suffolk 8-bed Group Homes & our 14-bed Youth Emergency Shelter.
“It’s a fun and meaningful way to show you care, while keeping safe in your own home,” shared Kim Evershed, Fundraising & Communications Coordinator at Wyndham House. “What an amazing group of student’s from St. Michael’s, we are so touch by their kindness, baking talents and enthusiasm to spread holiday cheer to make sure our youth know that our community cares. They are just fantastic and their holiday goodies were so greatly appreciated. It is always wonderful when youth support youth.”
Among the donated goodies, were sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies and gingerbread cookies – all nut free.
“I chose to bake sugar cookies because I find that everyone loves it. I also love creating the shapes with the cookie cutter. I find that part the most fun! I like decorating them too! You can have your own imagination when decorating,” shared Julia Rocha. “The most special part of the day for me was when we went to go deliver the cookies. When the lady at the door answered and said that they would love this, I felt like a hero. It feels so good to have planned this out with my friends because at the end of the day, we made a difference, not just for us, but for the whole community.”
Being able to provide baked goods at Christmas to youth their own age was especially important to Julia, and something she hopes to continue to do.
“As a community, we should show how fortunate we are by doing these activities for others. I just can't stop thinking about the youth who received the cookies! They were made with so much love,” she said. “I find it important for me to donate the cookies because it makes me feel good inside. Also, I can show how fortunate we are to have a family, friends, food, water, and much more! I also like doing this because it doesn't only inspire me, but it inspires others to do it as well. Such a small thing can make a really big difference in people's day. It makes memories that they can remember for the rest of their lives. It makes them feel special and everybody deserves to feel special during the holidays. It makes me happy to make others happy too!”
To learn more or to support the new Volunteer Program, Bake/Cook Their Day for youth experiencing homelessness at Wyndham House, please visit their website.