COOKIES FOR CAREGIVERS

It’s amazing to see the way God uses everyday people to carry out His will. Who would’ve thought something as simple as cookies would be the vessel that He would use with us.

We have been friends for 15 years and, like everyone, were quarantined at home with our families for a couple months. We decided to learn some new things during that time. It turns out we both took on making homemade cookies. A competitive spirit entered into our discussion, and we challenged each other to a bake off. We decided to let our mayor and the frontline workers at our local hospital be the judges. So we delivered our cookies, and we instantly saw the joy it brought these frontline workers.

We decided to make more cookies and give them to workers at other hospitals, grocery stores, fire departments and police precincts. And we couldn’t believe the reaction. Friends wanted to help and they started making cookies for us to deliver. We were overrun with cookies! Each cookie results in multiple smiles: to the people receiving the cookies, the people making them and even those delivering them. After all, when you try to bless others, it’s usually you that receives the bigger blessing.

This idea became a way for parents to do something wonderful with their kids and teach them the value of giving. We are all a bit dinged up during this pandemic and looking for a way to reach out to show some love. We found it with these cookies. We are trying to live out the Christian principles our parents taught us: that everyone has value and we should love our neighbors; that every person is “essential”.

We formed a Facebook group—Cookies for Caregivers—to help organize our efforts and get the word out. The reaction has been incredible: tears, smiles, and of course, the smacking of lips! We have made over 20,000 cookies here in our community alone, thanks to nearly 200 volunteer bakers. And this idea has spread to over 90 communities around the country that have blessed their frontline workers with thousands of cookies. During this pandemic, people are looking for a way to help in their community. Baking cookies provides an easy way to do this. We plan to do this for a long time. After all, kindness doesn’t have an expiration date.