One month ago I set off with a mission to bake through a cookbook, raise some money for a good cause, and make some essential workers happy in our community. Though I was very motivated, I willfully kept my expectations low. I blame Covid for my lack of confidence, as I’ve learned that holding plans loosely is the best way to go in a pandemic. One has a hard time aspiring for greatness when there are about a hundred ways a deadly disease and can throw a hinge in our best laid plans.

But despite my scarce optimism, not only have I been able to meet my goals, but exceeded them somehow. I’m 7 recipes ahead of schedule toward my baking goal (12 completed out of 47 recipes in Pie In the Sky). And though my scale may be scolding me for all the taste testing, I have zero regrets for all the delicious cakes, pies, breads, muffins and cookies that are flying out of my kitchen (and my carb-obsessed family of six is not complaining either).

But hitting baking goals was not the only part that has surprised me. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if people would get involved with my crazy bake sale experiment. But despite my doubt, in just two short weeks 17 people donated and I was able to raise $525 for Be the Bridge. And to think my original goal had been to raise $100- oh me of little faith.

But probably the most amazing outcome from my bake sale project was the surprising meaningful connections I have been making with people through baking. Either I was safely re-connecting with friends (masked, socially distanced, no contact delivery), making new friends (the fundraiser was public through Facebook), or I was able to bring a little bright, sweet moment of generosity to essential workers in my sphere.

It’s not a huge thing- to drop off a few slices of cake in a cute little box. But in this heavy moment in our lives, small gestures can really have a larger impact than we anticipate.

For instance, I received this note after dropping off some biscotti to a co-worker at Raphael House: “Your timing was everything I needed.  Your sweet treat literally made my day and continued to bring a smile to my face every time I made eye contact with it at home.”

But friends, what I love about this project is that it’s not just me making these moments happen- I get to give others the opportunity to share in the joy of giving. Creating this little bubbling of hope in people is addicting and absolutely should not be limited to myself.

Because of my years of work with people who have experienced heart-breaking trauma, homelessness and violence, I have personally witnessed how giving to others is vital for our own healing. To walk a hard road and yet be able to eventually encourage someone else is life-giving and helps give purpose behind some of the pain we have experienced.

For this reason, you can understand why I was so thrilled to see the people donating weren’t necessarily people who were financially well-off and had shiny, perfect lives (which don’t exist anyway, of course). They were people who have struggled themselves, but were still able and willing to give despite their personal challenges.

One past resident of My Father’s House, Susie (name and picture used with permission), reached out to me and asked if she could order 3 pumpkin pies. As she graciously understood that I wasn’t able to do big orders, I felt I had enough energy to make 1 extra full-sized pie. We arranged to connect and I was excited to see her again, since it had been several years since I had been her case manager at MFH.

As we caught up while trying to avoid the sprinkle of cold rain on my small porch, she told me how excited she was to be able to do something good in the community and she wanted to be able to do more. Covid had forced her to be home more as well, and she was hoping to be able to dust off her deep fryer and pick back up her egg roll hobby and would be thrilled to donate orders of egg rolls to my bake sales in the future.

As she was talking, I literally got warm chills (it’s also what I call a God-goosebumps). To be standing on my porch giving someone a pie…who is then giving me money to give to a great cause…who then wants to use their gifts and resources to help others in a bigger way…and can inspire others with their story because they have overcome homelessness…and we get to eat egg rolls…?!!!!!

I mean, I can’t really think of much in life that could be cooler than that right now. Seriously.

Eat that, low expectations.

So as we are already into February, I’m looking forward to introducing everyone to our next Bake Sale for Hope next week. This month we will be featuring Wild Aid, a cause that is near and dear to my 12-year-old daughter, Penny. From a very young age, Penny has had a passion for shark preservation (read more about her young activist beginnings here– it’s half-way through the post) and she has saved $100 of her own money to contribute to the cause. We will be hearing more from her as I bake up Daredevil Food’s Cake with Mocha Buttercream and Lemon-Poppy Seed Loaf cakes (and egg rolls from Susie) to save the sharks!

Friendly reminder of how the giving and receiving works for the Bake Sale:

Each person who donates to the charity gets two options: either they can connect with me and get a baked good, or they can donate their treat to an essential worker. To help with managing my time and capacity, it doesn’t matter if someone donates $10 or $100- everyone receives a similar sized portion (i.e. 2-3 servings of cookies, 2 slices of cake, etc.).

Unfortunately, I simply don’t have time or energy to make full-sized recipes for everyone who gives. I’m a full-time working mom, with 3 kids at home…so yeah, I hope you can see how running a full-fledge bakery on top of normal life might be a tad INSANE. For now, I am using Facebook for the fundraising, but I can take cash or Venmo donations as well.

Moving forward, I won’t be so reserved in my expectations or set limits on what we may be able to accomplish. This is going to be amazing. I hope you’ll join me!

I selected my first charity, Be the Bridge, because of the incredible impact this organization has had in my own life. Over the past year (as so many have), I have watched, listened, and learned so much about the reality of systemic racism in our country. My heart has grieved as I have grappled with my ignorance and lack of action in the past, and Be the Bridge created a place (through Latasha Morrison’s book and online community) where I could really learn and begin to process what I was seeing and experiencing.

Learning and lamenting about the injustices of racial inequity are certainly important steps for personal growth, but without action, we can’t really affect change. So helping support organizations who are already doing good work is one small step we can take. Choosing this charity is not a one-time token action to make it look like I have done something to address hatred and racism. It has to be ongoing work- personally, outwardly with action and with a commitment to carefully listen to the BIPOC community for how we can effectively begin to heal the divide.

Missed the bake sale last month? It’s never too late to give- find a charity that is working toward racial justice you love and give generously!

An act of kindness, giving it forward, can be more powerful than a sword in a needed revolution. –Ann Voskamp, The Broken Way