Holiday Cookies for the Homeless 2014

Before 2015 ended, Charles and I participated in a favorite holiday program -  our 3rd annual holiday Cookies for the Homeless Drive.

Fellow Italian Club members next to the cookie collection box

The Holiday Cookies for the Homeless program is designed to bring holiday cheer, in the form of homemade holiday cookies, to residents of the Day Resource Center - a Grassroots program that provides meals, showers, limited laundry and social services to homeless individuals and families in Howard County, Maryland.

This year we donated 1,300 holiday cookies to individuals and families in our town. With the help of several student clubs - Red Cross, Salvation Army, It's Academic, National Honor Society, Model United Nations and Indian Dance - we were able to increase our donation count from last year and support more people during the holidays. 

Cookies for the Homeless drop off box

Charles and I first participated in the program back in 2011(click here ) when our Grandma Alberta introduced us to the program's founder Lisa Jablonover.

In 2012 and 2013, we got our high school Italian Club involved in the the program (see here) and challenged other school clubs to a bake-off competition.  The winner receives a pizza party courtesy of the Italian Club. (see more here)

This year, Charles and I decided to bake almond snowball cookies and used this recipe here.

Holiday Cookies for the Homeless is a great program. A big shout out to founder Lisa Jablonover - who created a way for our community to do something special for families in need during the holiday. And to our Grandma Alberta for introducing us to Mrs. Jablonover and for baking awesome cookie donations.

Cookie donations ready for delivery

If you or your school club would like to get involved with the 2015 holiday cookie program, let us know and we'll connect you with Mrs. Jablonover.  In the meantime, if you'd like to help Grassroots, contact them here.

- Thomas

Holiday Cookies for the Homeless 2013

For most people, the sight and smell of homemade cookies baking in an oven is a holiday tradition. However, there are homeless individuals and families who cannot join in this baking ritual.

I was surprised to find out that in my own county there are 472 homeless children (according to the Community Foundation of Howard County). This is a huge number considering that we are one of the wealthiest counties in the nation.

For the past three years, Charles and I have participated in an event called Holiday Cookies for the Homeless. Lisa Jablonover started the program to collect homemade cookies and donate the sweets to the Day Resource Center, where the cookies are distributed to those less fortunate.

Sorting the cookies into small packages

2011 was the first year we participated in the holiday program when Charles and I baked cream cheese cookies (click here to read our blog post).  The ColumbiaPatch.com did a story about our contributions to the program here.

Last year, we organized a cookie drive by seeking the help of clubs in our high school to make a much bigger cookie donation. (read our blog post here).

Counting the cookie donations

This year, Charles and I organized the holiday cookie food drive again. Since my brother and I run our school's Italian club, we asked our club and other clubs to bake homemade cookies for the fundraiser.


                                    By the end of the day, students in the National Honor Society, Horizon, Best Buddies, Salvation Army and Red Cross and Italian clubs made over 800 homemade cookies. Combined with Lisa Jablonover's bakers, in total almost 2,000 holiday cookies were donated to the Day Resource Center and Grassroots Homeless Shelter.

Some of the Italian Club members after counting and sorting the 2013 holiday cookies

We look forward to participating in this program every year. While baking cookies seems like an ordinary thing to do -- it is very special to those who don't own a home to cook in.

Thanks to Lisa Jablonover for starting this program.  And a shout out to our Grandma Alberta who told us about it. We're definitely doing it again next year. 

- Thomas