2021 : 400 Cookies for Hope
The holiday season is often described as a time of giving, but I wanted to experience what that truly meant beyond exchanging gifts. Instead of spending the days leading up to Christmas at home, I decided to dedicate my time to preparing and delivering fresh sandwiches to people experiencing homelessness throughout Chicago.
400 cookies. 100 boxes. 100 motivational cards.
- Chicago | December 2021
- Mission Homeless Beneficiary: Chicago’s homeless community
I remember arriving in Chicago and being surprised by the amount of homeless people, and even more by the contrast of rich and poor people at the same place.
So instead of not being able to be with my family because of COVID restrictions, I’ve decided to be « there » for peoples in needs.
The 20th of December I bought my 6 lbs. of walnuts, 6 lbs. of chocolate, 100 empty decorated boxes.
The 23rd of December I’ve started the production in my kitchen. Early in the morning, I make 50 cookies batches until I run out of stock.
Total : 400 cookies
I also bought a deck of 100 little cards on which was displayed some motivational quotes, that I slipped in every boxes. This one says : « You’re a fighter, look at everything you’ve overcome. Don’t give up now » by Olivia Benson.
The message I wanted to share was not only a sharing and compassionate message, but also a reminder. A reminder that says each one of us has our own unique values and purpose in this world. We all have more of less difficult phases in our lives, and it’s important at this moment to remember who we are.
The car is loaded with almost 100 boxes, back seat, passenger seat, a full bottle of water, let’s do it.
I posted a message on a local facebook group called « Everything in Palatine ». It’s a mutual helping group from where I live, in Palatine. I explained my projects and asked where I could locate those people. I received just only a few hundreds of kind answers in a couple of hours. People were very emotional and touched by my idea. They immediately gave me the locations.
Without further ado, I drove down to Chicago.
As expected, I unfortunately did not have any hard time to find what I was looking for. The distribution has been operated very quickly (less than 3 hours). Most of them were located in downtown, hidden beetween the buildings, in the subways, trying to stay away from the cold and the wind (9 degrees Farenheit on that day).
Reactions were random sometimes, but mostly very touching.
Chicago, Xmas day 2021
I had the idea to make a video out of that (meanwhile respecting the privacy of the people), and sharing it on my social pages. This created so many reactions..
I spent Christmas 2021 alone, but not lonely.
Thank you.