Cookies for Kid’s Cancer

The students of Valley Ranch Elementary School in Irving, Texas, are serious about supporting good causes. Last fall, when the school decided to organize a campus event to raise money for charity, everyone wanted to get involved, and they wanted to do it right.

First, the students researched different causes that seemed natural for an elementary school to support. Then, the school narrowed down the list to 3 causes for the school to learn about and vote on. When the votes were tallied, Cookies for Kids’ Cancer won the support of the student body. As a result of the whole-hearted effort, the school raised over $1,200 during their Cookies for Kids’ Cancer bake sale.

But then, the Valley Ranch fund raiser took another fun turn. You see, school organizers wanted to present a special check to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer as a finale, and they reached out to our headquarters in New Jersey to see who from Cookies might be able to attend the special assembly in Irving, Texas. Well, it just so happens that two of Cookies for Kids’ Cancer’s longtime supporters, sisters Annette Oknefski and Debi Donaho, live within driving distance of Valley Ranch Elementary.

These sisters answered Gretchen’s first call to host bake sales in 2008, and have been friends and supporters ever since then. It delighted us to send Annette and Debi, as well as Debi’s husband Zane and son Garrett, as our Cookies for Kids’ Cancer Ambassadors to Valley Ranch Elementary.

So, thank you - to the teachers, students, and families of Valley Ranch Elementary as well as sisters Annette and Debi. Each and every person involved in the special check presentation that day is a Good Cookie and will forever be a member of the Cookies for Kids’ Cancer family!

Check out more of our photos at our Flickr gallery! http://www.flickr.com/photos/cookiesforkidscancer/

Marcy Goldman and her team at BetterBaking.com recently reached out to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer with kind words and heartfelt support. From her message our common bonds became clear. Her team loves to bake while our team loves to share baked goods. And we all love children. Collectively, we hope to do what we can, using the talents we possess, to keep kids from feeling the pain or facing the fears of cancer.

Take a peek at the Vera Bradley "bake sale."

I truly love Vera Bradley luggage. The classic lines and colorful patterns of their totes, duffles, diaper bags and key chains offer fun ways to express myself. And I love the sweet surprise of receiving new pieces for my collection. A green tote for high school graduation. A small green duffle for Christmas after college. The fabulous red pieces for my wedding. And just last year, I received a new key chain from my sister in law for my birthday. Each piece represents a bright, happy memory.

But I’ve never been more surprised or delighted by Vera Bradley than I was last fall when Cookies for Kids’ Cancer learned the team at Vera Bradley had thrown their support behind us in a BIG way. On what was otherwise a regular day of working to spread the word about the needs surrounding pediatric cancer funding, out of the blue came the news. Two pages of the Spring 2010 Vera Bradley catalog were dedicated to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer’s “sweet” approach to raising funds for new and improved treatments for pediatric cancer. In the same vibrant colors as their fabrics, the Vera Bradley team created and photographed a beautiful bake sale with cupcakes and cookies and beautiful kids. . .our version of a recipe for happiness.

So, thank you Vera Bradley. We are humbled and grateful for your support.

If you want to see the Spring collection, go to www.verabradley.com. And if you fall in love with some of their pieces, well just stay tuned to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. . .very soon, we’ll be sharing a surprise of our own that includes a few items from the newest Vera Bradley collection {plus other fun gifts} up for grabs this spring to bake sale hosts.

It’s never too soon to start thinking about spring, bake sales and pretty, pretty luggage. We hope you’ll let Vera Bradley inspire you!

We’re looking for recipes from our bake sale hosts. I’m always asking hosts- What was your best seller and can we have the recipe? I think often because chocolate chip cookie is the ultimate-best-selling-ruler-of-bake-sales, hosts are a little shy to write back with the recipe from the back of the chocolate chip package! But yesterday, a host wrote me back with a simple, yummy recipe to share with one and all. . .she also told her bake sale story. . .

It’s through work that Kathryn Gould of Colorado knows the Geraghty family, whose daughter is currently battling cancer. After witnessing the brave fight and the intense stress the family was going through, all Kathryn needed was a newspaper article about Cookies for Kids’ Cancer to know she was ready to get involved. As she said on her bake sale registration, “I read the article and decided to jump right in.”

Kathryn and her family set up a bake sale in their front yard, and in the meantime, fellow co-workers arranged for the Geraghty’s to receive a special visit from Santa while in the hospital because their young warrior’s biggest fear was that Santa would not be able to find her in the hospital. While the Gould’s raised awareness and funds, her team made sure spirits stayed high for the Geraghty’s. And with each donation, together we get closer to new and improved treatments for kids battling cancer. An amazing bit of hope for a day’s work.

But back to the recipe. . .it’s pretty amazing, too.

Oreo Bites

1 package Oreo cookies (lowfat works)
1 block cream cheese (lower fat Neufchatel works)
bark coating or white chocolate chips

Mash, process, blend or otherwise reduce the Oreo cookies to dust. Mix the block of cream cheese with the cookie crumbs until it forms a big ball (hands work best for this). Refrigerate for one hour. Remove the Oreo/cream cheese mixture from the fridge and using your hands, pinch off enough of the “dough” to roll into a 1 inch ball. Repeat using all the dough. Using a double boiler, melt bark coating or white chocolate chips, then drop the cookie balls into the melted chocolate and coat well. Once covered, place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Let dry. Note: white chocolate chips are the healthier option but will require refrigeration to harden. When the coating is dry, eat and enjoy!

We hope you will show your love this Valentine’s through Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. Send our delicious, all-natural cookies instead of flowers.  . .they taste as good to eat as they feel to give, plus your gift truly goes toward saving lives.

Host a bake sale. Donate online. Order cookies. Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.

Toby

Diagnosed April 17^th 2007, at the age of 3.5, with NB stage 4.

In the course of two hours we went from having a perfectly healthy, sweet-as-pie, joyous toddler to hearing that he had an aggressive form of cancer and might die. Cancer robbed our child of his softness, his innocence, his curls, and his endurance. It has also revealed some remarkable things. We have a little boy who says “please” and “thank you” as poisons drip into his bloodstream. A little boy who makes the hospital clowns howl with laughter.

And a little boy who learned to read a full 2 years ahead of his peers, by deciphering hospital signs for “operating room,” “radiation,” and “infusion complete.” Throughout 18 months of non-stop treatment, while undergoing pain that neither of his parents would be able to endure, Toby has taught us what it means to live with hope.

To those who want to help:

Before Toby was diagnosed I never gave a thought to children with cancer. My only frame of reference was the strangely bald kids who sometimes appeared in hospital advertising and I always turned my eyes away… it was too painful to think of children suffering. Your willingness to look at our children is the greatest gift I can imagine. Your support and your love give Toby a chance at life. Thank you.

Donation jar.

So much about pediatric cancer is out of my control. I’m not a scientist who can develop treatments and eventual cures. I don’t have an endowment or trust to donate and fund new therapies. And I absolutely cannot stop the hands of time, so I know tomorrow close to 50 more kids will be diagnosed with pediatric cancer. But I take comfort in the things I can do - like sharing the stories of Good Cookies who host bake sales. Like the Good Cookie story from Tisha Soladay in Redondo Beach, California, whose words and pictures bring to life the wonderfully ordinary and uniquely extraordinary elements of her Cookies for Kids’ Cancer bake sale. . .in Tisha’s words. . .

Tisha and her daughter Daphne

“I saw Joan Cusack on Martha Stewart and stopped what I was doing to learn about the cause she was supporting. I immediately knew that a bake sale was something I could handle. I had been looking for an organization to volunteer for, especially one that had to do with children and health, but hadn’t yet found one that was personal to me. I have always wanted to volunteer for Ronald McDonald House since my parents needed their services when I was little, but there is not a location near me. I was very sick at age 10 and was in and out of hospitals and doctors offices for years. Although it wasn’t cancer, it was a very scary time for my family and I and I almost died. I still suffer from two other autoimmune diseases today, so I felt like this was the field I wanted to volunteer for. When I saw the Cookies for Kids’ Cancer segment, I got very excited and immediately went to my computer to learn more. I started calling my closest friends and sending out emails the next day.

Tisha Soladay with her team (from back) Jenny Slusser, Florence Messenger, Candance Verdugo, and Cassie Weber with their kids during the bake sale.

We set up at 3pm and shortly after a nasty motorcycle cop tried to shut us down. I explained that I had permission to be there from the city, but he definitely wasn’t in the Christmas spirit and threatened to check it out. Thankfully he never returned! Some of our kids helped out and did a great job selling cookies and holding signs.

What a spread!

Stories like Tisha’s highlight some great ingredients of successful bake sales - inspiration, motivation, determination and fun! Her bake sale story also reminds me we don’t have to control every little aspect of pediatric cancer to make a difference. We can’t all be scientists, and we definitely cannot stop the hands of time. But if each of us contributes what is in our control by hosting a bake sale, ordering cookies, or making a donation, then together, we will raise the funds needed to make the biggest difference of all - we’ll save lives.  

Please register your Cookies for Kids’ Cancer bake sale today!

My kids ask for stuff all day long. It’s their job. They ask for something to drink, something to eat, something to do. . .and most of the time, they use the oh-so-polite Magic Word when asking. Frankly, their desires often become reality when they throw in a “please” with their request. But because they are children, they sometimes need a little prompting.

“What is the magic word?” I ask after a less-than-polite demand for more of whatever. Most of the time, they respond with, “Please!”

But on occasion, when in a silly mood, my kids have been known to provide an unconventional, “Abracadabra!” Or when they are with their cousins, the magic word often becomes,”Purple banana!” And regardless of which silly versions are used, you can guarantee the kids always erupt in fits of giggles. Their spirited, wide-open laughter is one of my favorite parts of childhood innocence. And that laughter is also one of the many reasons I get up every morning and work to raise awareness and funds for pediatric cancer. I want to do my part to keep as many kids focused on the silly things in life as possible.

Like the kids in the picture below. At first glance they look carefree, but once you hear their story, you will see wisdom in their eyes. The 5th graders pictured are from Riverside Elementary School in Newport News, VA. Two years ago, they watched their brave friend Tommy Gosser battle Ewings sarcoma, an insidious form of pediatric cancer. As mere third graders, they faced the fear and saddness of cancer and showed their own courage after losing their friend to the disease. Since then, they have regularly supported pediatric cancer fundraising, and as soon as they heard about Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, they hosted a bake sale this holiday season, raising over $1,000. Way to go, Riverside 5th Graders - you are Good Cookies, indeed.

Without the support of people like the kids, teachers, and parents from Riverside Elementary, Cookies for Kids’ Cancer couldn’t grant money to scientists who are ready to introduce new, improved treatments for kids battling this disease. But it is going to take many, many bake sales and many, many supporters to guarantee we can keep kids focused on laughter rather than learning, first-hand, about the harsh reality of cancer.

So, what magic words do we need to say to convince you to host a bake sale?  Are the magic words the reminder that pediatric cancer is the #1 disease killer of kids under the age of 18 in the US? Are the magic words that scientists are ready and waiting with new treatment options and all they need is funding? Are the magic words that bake sales mean hope to the mommies and daddies of brave pediatric warriors?

Or, quite simply, is the magic word “please?”

Would you please host a Cookies for Kids’ Cancer bake sale? Click here to register to host a bake sale.

Thank you for your support!

The 5th Graders from Riverside Elementary School in Newport News, VA, during their bake sale in honor of their friend Tommy Gosser, who lost his battle with Ewings sarcoma.

Woman’s Day Magazine is featuring women on a mission to make a difference in the world, and on that list, snuggled in between Gloria Allred and Hillary Rodham Clinton is our very own Cookies for Kids’ Cancer co-founder, Gretchen Holt Witt. Also featured on the list are the likes of glamorous Angelina Jolie and Nancy Goodman Brinker (founder of Susan G Komen foundation. . .) Not a bad list to make, eh? The list of women has big names, all with big hearts who want one thing - to make a difference in the world.

And Gretchen wants to make that differernce one cookie at a time. But she cannot do it without your help!

Anytime is a great time to register to host a bake sale or oder cookies from our online cookie store or to simply make a donation. Right now is the perfect time to start planning for Valentine’s Day. . .show your big heart with a bake sale and know you are changing the world of pediatric cancer, for the better, forever!

Click here to read the Woman’s Day article: http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Family-Lifestyle/Women-Who-Are-Changing-the-World.html

The Polakov family of Calabasas, CA with friends from Malibu High School hosted a December 2009 bake sale. Thank you for being Good Cookies!

Are you looking for a New Year’s Resolution? And by resolution, I don’t mean some unattainable, over-the-top goal that lets you down by, oh, next week. I’m talking about a true life change that you can keep up with, even when everything around you is anything but “resolved.” Well if you need an idea, of course, Cookies for Kids’ Cancer would love for you to adopt supporting us as your New Year’s Resolution. . .all you need is to give from the heart. In 2010 you could. . .

Resolve to host ONE bake sale this year! We encourage bake sales 365 days a year. . .Valentine’s Day is a great time to share your love and show your support for pediatric cancer research.

Resolve to send COOKIES for all of life’s special occasions this year! (Look! Even iVillage agrees!)

Resolve to begin a monthly donation to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. A $10/month commitment equals about two coffee drinks per month and adds up to $120 in tax deductible giving per year! That’s what I call a sacrifice that I can live with AND gives life!

Happy New Year! We look forward to many new beginnings in 2010!