Rising ninth grader Ava Claar wanted to do something to help those whose lives had been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, and she wanted to help as many people as possible. Ava decided to put her passion for baking to work, and after enlisting her friend Rachel Pellom to join her, they launched the “Baking for Change” fundraiser. In a few short weeks, they raised almost $4,000 for Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.
Ava says she got the idea of baking loaves of bread to raise funds from a cousin who made a sourdough starter, baked the bread, and raised a considerable amount of money. The choice to support the Food Shuttle was based on what Ava calls a “very positive experience helping Backpack Buddies” when she and Rachel were younger. She and Rachel spread the word about their “Baking for Change” fundraiser throughout their community, emailed teachers and friends, and through friends and family sharing about their efforts on their own social media.
Ava said of the experience, “All of the responses we have gotten have been super positive which made us so happy! One thing that surprised me was the community’s level of generosity. Rarely anyone paid only the set amount for the loaves of bread, and so many people were willing to donate a little extra. We were excited to keep raising our goal! We first set a goal of $2,500, and we have raised close to $4,000. A moment that stood out to us is when someone donated $1,110 to get us to our first goal of $2,500 dollars by July 8th, which was the second week of our project.”
Ava and Rachel will both attend Durham Academy this fall. They say that the project has taught them so much—from how to run a business to how motivation can effect change to help the community. “All in all,” Ava said, “this has been a great experience!”
