#Dough4Good Encourages People To Exchange Cookies For a Sweet Cause
It’s that time of year again!
GlamourGals is kicking off its #dough4good campaign on October 1 in honor of National Homemade Cookies Day and International Day for Older Persons — the perfect combo to help GlamourGals in their mission to end senior isolation.
#Dough4good is inspiring people to turn their holiday cookie parties into gatherings that give back.
For the past 17 years, Emmy-winning TV producer Cathy Daniel has hosted an annual holiday Cookie Exchange to keep her mom’s baking traditions alive.
“Some of my favorite memories of my mom are of us baking together,” she says. “She loved Christmas and hosting parties. We would bake sugar cookies and snowmen and swap them with my gram and sister-in-law. There were always plates of Christmas cookies, a touch of glamour, tons of laughter, and my mom’s homemade raspberry cordial.”
Each year, Cathy invites friends to jingle and mingle while sipping her signature cocktail (the poinsettia) and catch up over cookies. One year, over 100 people packed her tiny NYC studio apartment. That’s when she began to see the bigger picture.
“We were bursting at the seams, with people and cookies!” she remembers. “And If everyone gave just one dollar, we could make a big difference for a good cause.”
Cathy’s annual gathering became a recipe for charitable success when she teamed up with fellow cookie lover Rachel Doyle, founder and CEO of GlamourGals. Rachel had her own fond memories of baking traditions with her grandmother.
After meeting at a bakery in Hell’s Kitchen, NYC, the two dished about cookies and created the #dough4good campaign. Since Cathy’s 350-square-feet apartment could not fit her 1,500 Facebook friends, she took her fundraising efforts online, replacing the cookie jar with a Facebook campaign. Through the generosity of friends and family, she has raised $2,200 and hopes to inspire others to do the same.
NBC10 Traffic Reporter Sheila Watko says Cathy’s cookie parties are the highlight of the holidays.
“I’m a big Christmas girl and I can’t imagine not having any friends or family to spend the season with, so when I heard her party was giving back to GlamourGals, I loved it even more!” Sheila says. “Isn’t that what the holidays are all about, spreading friendship and love? And who doesn’t love a party with cookies? Cookies make everyone happier!”
Join the likes of culinary experts Andrew Zimmern and Elisa Marshall, to Mean Girls actress and baker at the Hallmark Channel, Lacey Chabert, in supporting this worthwhile and yummy campaign for a sweet cause.
Dust off your aprons and pull out the cookie cutters and kick off your holiday fundraising cookie party by CLICKING HERE. For party planning tips and more information, click here.
Cathy and Rachel hope people will help kick off this year’s campaign by showing their support for #dough4good on social media.
“The spirit of a GlamourGals makeover is the personal connection and conversation,” Rachel explains. “We are organizing over 1,300 volunteers in 100 local volunteer chapters nationwide to change this stat. Now, I hope the broader community will join us in this spirit and connect over a cookie exchange and honor their loved ones.”
Supporters can share a picture or story tied to their own baking connection on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter and tag both @glamourgals and @dough4good, and use the #dough4good hashtag.
GlamourGals will return the cookie love by featuring a few standouts during this year’s campaign. Connecting is at the core of GlamourGals mission to end elder isolation.
GlamourGals is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to inspire and organize compassionate teen volunteers to provide ongoing companionship and complimentary beauty makeovers to women living in senior homes. As many as 60 percent of the 1.4 million seniors in residential care do not receive visitors.
Don’t have time to bake? That’s ok! You can make an easy doughnation HERE.