As soon as you step inside the front door of the high school you can smell it. Just follow your nose down the corridor any Wednesday after school and there you’ll find them, the “Crumbs,” baking batches of cookies to ship out to troops overseas.
“We’re a community of high school students coming together for a good cause,” explained student Lissette De La Rosa. “Giving back to the soldiers that are fighting so we can be free.”
And their efforts are greatly appreciated. “Thank you for all the boxes that you sent us,” wrote one soldier from Afghanistan. “Thank you for your support. Receiving boxes while deployed is like receiving a little piece of home.”
“American food over here is like gold,” wrote another. “It’s been 3+ months since I left the U.S and I can’t tell you how much I miss it.”
Bakers, mixers, and mascots
The students are all members of FCCLA, the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, one of numerous after-school clubs at the high school. Every Wednesday they report to the kitchen in the rear of the building and get to work for a couple of hours baking dozens of cookies.
“There are three teams for baking and three for mixing,” said Stephanie Dotzler, president of the club.
“We rotate every week,” added Vice President Leslie Mujica. “If you’re baking this week then you’ll be mixing next week.”
“We’re a community of high school students coming together for a good cause – giving back to the soldiers that are fighting so we can be free.” – Lissette De La Rosa
____________
“It’s fun,” said Maria Cruz, one of many juniors working on the project, as she bagged a package of raw dough. “We just finished mixing one batch.”
“Now we put it in a bag and put it in the refrigerator,” said Valeria Nunez. “And next week we take it out and bake it.”
“This is the first time we’ve had guys,” said Mujica. “Usually it’s all girls.”
“We’re the mascots,” explained Anthony Gonzalez, who joined at the behest of his girlfriend, bringing along his buddy Jesus Pinental to keep him company.
“They’re getting it,” said his girlfriend, Kathy Gonzalez. “They even bake by themselves. Sometimes.”
Anthony had never baked before. Now he enjoys the process. And the attention. “Everybody always cheers us when we walk in the door,” he said.
Many of the students haven’t even tasted the cookies – every one is destined to go overseas – but Nunez was one of the lucky ones. “There was an extra cookie one day and we just split the cookie in six pieces,” she said.
“Someday I’ll taste one,” said Nathalia Tavares. “If we burn one.”
Treating the troops
The program is overseen by Marlene Sapoff, a teacher at the school who first began baking cookies as part of “Treat the Troops” 10 years ago. When she got involved with FCCLA at the school, it seemed a natural fit.
Treat the Troops was founded in 1990 by Jeanette Cram of Hilton Head Island, S.C. She receives requests for cookies, typically from friends or family of deployed soldiers, and distributes them to volunteers who do the actual baking. To date the program has shipped nearly 4 million cookies overseas.
“She’s the Cookie Lady,” said Sapoff. “We’re her Crumbs. Across the country people bake the cookies for the troops, in church groups or whatever. This is the only high school in the country that does it.”
Each package contains a personal note from the students. “We write thank-you letters to the soldiers to explain why we’re sending them cookies,” said Maria Vizcaino. “And everybody signs.” Often the soldiers write back to express their gratitude, sending pictures.
Chris Striklin, Chief of Staff, NATO Air Training Command – Afghanistan, sent an email with the subject line “Chocolate Chip Goodness,” saying, “Thank you so much for the thoughts and sentiments in your recent container of amazing chocolate chip cookies. Our entire command enjoyed them.”
The “Crumbs” ship out two to three boxes containing six or eight dozen cookies each week, with postage alone costing about $10 per box. That plus the cost of ingredients adds up. To keep the ovens baking they hold fundraising activities throughout the year. Anyone interested in contributing can contact Sapoff care of the high school at (201) 295-2800.
Art Schwartz may be reached at arts@hudsonreporter.com.