What began innocently as a "bake-off" between two dads has turned into a movement. It was back in April when two dads went head-to-head to see who could make the best chocolate chip cookie. But in a twist of fate, neither of them brought home the coveted title of the best cookie; however, they got something much more valuable out of it than a title, the opportunity to give back to their community, according to Washington Post.
Scott McKenzie, 58, was one of the many who were furloughed during the height of the pandemic. He worked at Juniata College. He decided that each week, he wanted to learn a new skill. One week happened to be baking cookies. So, he did just that, making them from scratch.
He was pretty pumped that he had made his first batch of cookies, so much so, that he posted a photo of himself with his cookies on Facebook. That is when fellow dad and friend Jeremy Uhrich, 42, challenged him to a competition to see who could bake the best chocolate chip cookies.
Initially, the two were going to have essential workers judge the cookies. However, with the pandemic raging, they had backed off of that idea, realizing it would be hard to coordinate different sampling sessions for each cookie entry. Instead, they went to their local mayor to judge them. Once he picked the winner, the cookies were going to be donated to essential workers.
Both McKenzie and Uhrich delivered the remaining cookies to essential workers, who were rather touched by the sweet gesture. They both said that they should do it again. That is how "Cookies For Caregivers" was born. They thought maybe it would only be a handful of people from their hometown of Huntingdon that would volunteer to bake cookies.
It got larger than that. Within only a few days, they had approximately 100 people who wanted to join the group and were eager to start baking for essential workers. The two men had an idea. Each week they would select four volunteers to bake around four dozen cookies. Uhrich oversees the baking aspect while McKenzie gets in touch with various essential workers and makes certain that they are comfortable receiving baked goods.
Once a week, bakers drop off the cookies at Uhrich's home. McKenzie and Uhrich both deliver the cookies to various areas in Huntingdon which has around 7,000 people in it. In the past eight months alone, they have delivered over 15,500 cookies or just under 1,300 dozen. They are now known as "The Cookie Guys."
McKenzie recently went back to work at the college, however, that did not slow him down from "Cookies for Caregivers."
Uhrich named the flavors off, "We’ve had chocolate chip, sugar, butterscotch, snickerdoodle, cupcakes, fudge, peanut butter blossoms. As far as cookies go, you name it, we’ve delivered it."
A weekly recipient of the cookies is the local hospital, Penn Highlands Huntingdon. The president of the hospital has said that the weekly delivery of cookies has made an impact on his staff. He says that they make sure cookies are delivered to every unit so that everyone knows that the community is rallying behind them.
Other places that have remained open during the pandemic, such as the local newspaper had been recipients of the cookies as well. Seeing just how happy the cookies made her news staff, the head of the local paper decided to hop on the baking wagon as well. Many local parents enjoy the opportunity to bake with their children while giving back to a beautiful cause.
While both McKenzie and Uhrich both started Cookies for Caregivers, they give all the credit to the bakers who take the time out of their days to bake cookies for frontline workers. Both of them are now looking to expand the program past their community. Uhrich's father has stage 4 lung cancer and even felt motivated to start his own Cookies For Caregivers group in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
So far, Jerry Uhrich, 71, said that they have delivered to 120 places, which include fire departments, post offices, schools, and more. He said, "For my wife and I, it warms our hearts. We get more out of it than the recipients." He has no plans of slowing down, just like his son Jeremy. McKenzie and Uhrich said the best part about it all is seeing how people react when the cookies are delivered, saying some are even in tears.
A Cookies for Caregivers has been started in Arizona, and there are many other places that want to start their own chapter.
Sources: Washington Post, Twitter
November 28, 2020 at 10:30PM
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