by Bruce Bachmeier, Director of Volunteers – It’s not every day we get a heartfelt letter, donation, business model and well wishes from a CEO who is 10 years old!
But that was the case late this summer, when Carmen Pastrana and her friends at the Giving Bakery surprised us with their initiative and ability to act from their hearts, as illustrated in the letter below:
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Dear Hesed House,
I am the CEO of The Giving Bakery and I am 10 years old. Last year I decided that I wanted to do something that would help people. My friends and I started The Giving Bakery where we bake baked goods and sell them to people. Inside this envelope there is a menu and business card. The business card says who everyone is and what their job is. On the back of the card there is a spot for people to order so we kept a box of all the cards with orders and made all the orders. Obviously, we had customer favorites. The baked good that was bought the most was the Chocolate Chip Cookie, then the Snicker Doodle, then the Pumpkin Pie which was personally my favorite.
We decided to donate the profits to a charity. We searched through a bunch of different charities and agreed that we need to help the homeless. We found the Hesed House and decided that you were perfect. We have raised $700 and are donating it to Hesed House. I hope our donation helps you help the ones in need. But, of course I could not have done it without my partners, so I’m giving a ton of the credit to them. Thank you.
Carmen Pastrana,
The Giving Bakery
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Carmen’s letter gives us inspiration that a small group of friends, united for a cause, can make a big difference in our community and in our world. It also confirms that there is still nothing quite like the good old chocolate chip cookie!
