Mix together a non-profit business with a before-school club. Then, fold in one cup of care, add two cups of meticulous work, and one teaspoon of love. The delicious creation is the club called Cookie Collective, a club devoted to making a change through cookies, junior Emma Winer, Cookie Collective Co-President, said.
In March, The Cookie Collective won a $2,000 grant from Vanderbilt University’s Women in Business Startup Ideation Competition, Junior Phoebe Mann, Cookie Collective Co-President said. The competition was a pitch deck opportunity for up-and-coming businesses and the funds will be used to help grow the club, Mann explained.
The club, which is led by two editors of The Oracle, meets in the Student Activities Center every other week on Friday mornings at 7:30 a.m. in Room 1225, Winer said. The Cookie Collective started as a non-profit business by Winer’s older sister, Ava Winer. After Ava graduated high school, the business was reborn as a club, Emma explained. Both Emma and Ava hold a love for baking, Emma added.
“We started [baking] at home, especially during COVID-19,” Emma said. “It was always a competition between me and my sister [of] who [could bake] better, and then from there we realized that if we did this all the time [it] could be something so much bigger.”
In addition to the regular meetings, the club schedules baking days after school in Room 1170 to create the treats they will sell at different events, Emma added. With the money raised from selling cookies, the club donates to a charity which changes monthly, Emma said.
“[In Cookie Collective], we want everyone’s voice to be heard, so everybody helps to choose the charity,” Emma said. “[The club’s] board [selects] a couple charities that represent [a monthly awareness] and then the club members will vote [on them], the one with the most votes will be the [charity Cookie Collective donates] to.”
Mann also developed a connection with baking and community service, influencing her to create the Cookie Collective club with Emma.
“[Emma] and I both love to bake, and when we came to high school, we [joined] a lot of service clubs,” Mann said. “We
thought [Cookie Collective] would be a good way to combine both of those passions and give back to our community.”
One of the recent events Cookie Collective took part in was through the Kohl Children’s Museum, whose profits went to the Cancer Wellness Center, Mann said. In addition to galas at the Kohl Children’s Museum, Cookie Collective hosted a bake sale with Cure Club and will be running a table at Spring Fling, Emma said. The past event with the Kohl Children’s Museum involved Cookie Collective’s first baking day where they made 140 chocolate chip and brownie cookies, Laura Croak, Cookie Collective Sponsor, said.
“[Club members] stayed after school from 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and baked a ton of cookies that [Cookie Collective] ended up donating to the Kohl Children’s Museum for one of their [galas],” Croak said.
Donating the money is rewarding to Emma and Mann because it benefits their community.
“[Donating] feels good because you know your hard work is getting put to good use,” Emma said. “[Members are] having fun while also [donating] to [a charity with the] passion project of baking.”
