Cookies From The Heart

It’s a well known fact that food prepared with love tastes better.  And sometimes it takes a child to remind us of that.  This juicy remembrance came back to us during one of our Boomer Affinity Group meetings at Hands On. Once monthly a group of volunteers meets at Hands On to share our volunteer experiences and to deepen our understanding of community service. And this particular month we each thought back to our childhood passions, recalling what we most adored doing with our time. One of us loved to bake, another entertained her parents with her short stories, and yet another loved artistic expression. It was a synergistic moment as these tales converged into an exquisite opportunity to give back to others in the year 2010 in Portland, Oregon.

On a Sunday afternoon, many of our Affinity Group members gathered in a kitchen giving rise to 240 home baked cookies, yes that’s 20 dozen! Six cookies were lovingly packed into each decorated bag with a written note expressing care and good wishes.  Their childhood passions for baking, writing and art converged with their willingness to give back. Then on Friday evening, one of the cookie bakers packed these 40 bags of sweets into her car and delivered them to the homeless at Operation Night Watch. She unloaded the goods and before returning from parking her car, the prizes were claimed and consumed. These homeless adults, hungry for many things, grew back into the eager children who know that food prepared with love tastes better.


Karen Beal
Community Engagement Affinity Group Facilitator