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| Kids like Ella (11), Eliana (10), and Danica (11) are helping end poverty with their own creative ideas⎯like winter bake sales! |
It all started with a sweet idea.
Danica, an eleven-year-old from Abbotsford, BC, grew up flipping through the Gifts for Change Gift Guide with her family each Christmas. Realizing she had so much while others had so little, she wanted to raise $160 to buy a Dairy Cow to help a family get out of poverty. So, she gathered her two friends, Eliana and Ella, and cooked up a plan—a bake sale!
The girls—and their mothers—headed to the grocery store for ingredients, then whipped out the baking tins, spatulas, and mixers. All around their neighbourhood, they hung posters and invited friends and family through social media: “Are you looking for a sweet treat? Look no further than Ella, Danica, and Eliana’s Bake Sale. Why? We think it’s unfair that we have so much, and some people have so little.”
On the day of the bake sale, the sun shone down on the table of treats set up on their street corner. The mid-November winter air was crisp as they waited to see who would come.
One by one, friends and family began showing up in support. Drivers and passersby stopped too—in one day they had around 50 customers! Moved by the girls’ compassion, customers didn’t ask for change and even donated extra.
“We sold out of everything!” With every cookie, brownie, and cup of hot cocoa sold, they raised $550—three and a half times their goal!
“It was inspiring and definitely made us proud,” said Carmen, Danica’s mother. In addition to a Dairy Cow, the girls bought School Supplies, Clean Toilets, and Launch a Family Business.
“It felt like we could [actually] do something to help other people,” the girls said smiling. But they couldn’t have done it alone. They worked together and rallied their community to make a difference!“It’s doable. These girls just started small,” Kirsten, Eliana’s mother, reflected. “They baked some cookies and brownies, made a goal, and chose to do it together, which was fun! When you show up on purpose and you have a plan, I think anybody can do something simple like this.”
Are you inspired to creatively help families out of poverty? We're here to help! Reach out to [email protected].
Written by Tatum Bergen
