Imagine teaching your children how to help others and be able to walk away with a sweet treat as well.
You could call it, “Having your cookie and eating it too.”
That’s because Wilton’s The Painted Cookie is hosting a cookie-decorating fundraiser to Take a Bite Out of ALS, and owner Susan Schmitt is inviting Wilton children to take part by visiting the store to color and decorate one of her famous cookies.
Schmitt got the idea as part of a philanthropic effort to support a colleague, a fellow ‘cookier’ with a custom cookie business in California. She says it’s a tight community of professionals who have bonded over their love of custom cooking making.
“The fundraiser started with my ‘sugar sister,’ Anita. She lost her brother, Randy, to ALS in 2011. After he passed away she decided she wanted to do something to raise awareness and money toward a cure. She started Sweet Hope Cookies, and she has raised over $20,000 herself that she’s given to the ALS Association. She’s a really spectacular person,” Schmitt says.
Impressed and inspired by last year’s ice bucket challenges, which raised millions of dollars for the ALS cause, Anita decided that doing the ice bucket challenge wouldn’t be practical where she lives in California, due to the ongoing drought there.
“She wanted to come up with something else, and the cookiers have several charities that we support for each other. She called out to us to take the challenge to ‘Take a Bite Out of ALS.’ Some people are baking and auctioning off their cookies. I could donate a day of sales. But I thought this would be more fun,” Schmitt explains, adding that the benefit of getting the kids to actively participate in the doing was something she felt parents would appreciate.
“I thought it was important for kids to be involved in these sorts of things,” she says. “Especially living in our area, we’re very fortunate, it’s important to reach out to others who are not as fortunate as we are.”
It’s important to note that all the cookies are nut free, and Schmitt reassures parents, “It’s a food-safe environment.”
On Monday-Wednesday, Aug. 24-26, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., children of all ages are invited to come into The Painted Cookie (196 Danbury Rd.) to color a cookie for meet the teacher or the first day of school. There will be book-shaped cookies as well as square SMARTboard cookies available to color. The event is free, but Schmitt suggests a donation of $5 or more.
GOOD Morning Wilton is honored to be sponsoring the event.
