Izzy, Lucy, Lily B.
The Baking Connections team noticed a lack of community support, personal autonomy, and purpose in local senior homes, leading them to the question, “How Might We place increased value on what seniors have to offer in our Boise community?” In March, they connected with Mercy Housing, a low income senior housing facility, to throw an event called Cookie Connection. This event empowered a senior resident to teach the rest of the participants her signature cookie recipe, helping her pass along her delicious knowledge. After the event, the seniors continued to ask when the team was coming back, so they implemented Cookie Connection Part Two on May 11th. Due to the positive feedback, they began to think: “How Might We expand this idea to other schools and senior homes?” The team developed a curriculum that can take anyone through the necessary steps to implement a Baking Connections Event from start to finish. The knowledge shared by the seniors and the relationships created with the residents at Mercy Housing greatly affected the teens, proving that the key to a happy community is, indeed, “baking” a connection.
