This past weekend at the Canyon Creek Fall Fest, Khira Patel ‘18 raised about $100 through her organization, Cookies 4A Cause, for the American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT) organization.
She started Cookies 4A Cause towards the end of 7th grade, influenced by a project that she had done on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
“I had participated in a competition called National History Day in which my team and I created a project on the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,” Patel said. “We worked with an organization called ADAPT which was really influential in the disability rights movement.”
She was impacted by this project and wanted to do something to contribute to the disability rights movement and to the community in general.
“After nationals, I wanted to continue working to benefit this organization after learning all the hardships people with disabilities faces when fighting for equality and accessibility,” Patel said.
Through her organization, Patel is able to use one of her hobbies to help her give back to others.
“Cookies 4A Cause was a perfect way to give back to my community while continuing my passion for baking,” Patel said.
Patel has sold her cookies at the last two Canyon Creek Fall Fests, and continues to look for other local community events where she can raise money.
“The Fall Fest is an annual event and I hope to continue to sell there,” Patel said. “I don’t have any specific plans for the future but I have decided that I am going to donate 100 percent of the profit instead of 50 percent.”
Although she loves baking and selling cookies to help ADAPT, she does not have as much time to do so.
“I am definitely going to still sell at events like my local Fall Fest,” Patel said. “However, now that I am in high school it is harder to bake every week and sell cookies them,”
She hopes to continue to raise money for ADAPT through Cookies 4A Cause and hopes that she can continuously expand her business.
“This whole experience has taught me the importance of serving rather than receiving and so it seemed right that I would donate all the money I raised,” Patel said.
