Recently I was perusing Beantown Baker's blog and found a link to Operation Baking GALS (Give a Little Support), a volunteer organization that sends cookies and care packages in bulk to a member of our military. A serviceman/servicewoman may receive as many as a dozen or more packages over about a weeks time, all containing homemade baked goods and usually from complete strangers. I was touched by the concept of showering these heroes with love and support and immediately knew I needed to be a Baking Gal.
So I joined and read through the teams that were shipping out in August. Many of the stories of these soldiers were touching and it really didn't matter who I was baking for. But ultimately I signed up for Team East Coast Love (despite having only 3 days to bake and get my package in the mail). I was touched because this Marine grew up not far from where I went to college and only a few hours from my hometown. He's serving in Afghanistan and is missing his girlfriend and his golden retriever (in addition to his family).
Since I was on a tight deadline and had to work with ingredients on hand, I baked up some M&M Cookies and packaged them up with some extra goodies like cereal bars, nuts, candy and gum. These grateful recipients usually get so many packages once they are nominated to Baking GALS that they often end up sharing with their roommates, coworkers, or even the entire unit.
So here lies another category of baking. I plan to join at least a few rounds a year and I encourage you to join Baking GALS as well. Or if you know someone serving in our military and would like to nominate them, please leave a comment with your email address (so I can contact you for more details) and I will lead a team to send them goodies.
Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess
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