The Flour Girls with Debbie Wood, UMW President 2012

In 2012, my daughter and my Goddaughter, were asked by their 6th grade confirmation teacher to come up with a mission project to serve the community.  They both love to bake and thought they could combine their interest in baking with finding a way to serve others.  Thus, Flour Girls was formed.

Over the next year they raised almost $2,000 for various agencies in the community including the church’s greatest need, our food pantry.

One agency in particular, Family Pathfinders, really helped the girls to understand the impact of their efforts.  The mission of Family Pathfinders is to strengthen the community by empowering families and individuals to attain self-sufficiency.  They help individuals who have expressed the desire to leave the welfare system to become independent or have recently been released from incarceration and want to begin a new life.  The clients are assisted with job and housing placement, educational opportunities and parenting classes.

When I told the girls about the agency’s annual Christmas party for the families they serve and how they depend on donations from the community for gifts for the clients, they decided baking gingerbread cookies was something they could do to help.

The first Sunday they collected almost 120 orders!  The members of our church were so generous.  Many weren’t even interested in the cookies, they just wanted to help two little girls with their mission.  Some people bought multiple bags to give as hostess gifts for the Thanksgiving holiday and one member bought 20 bags to give to their employees.  The timing of this was perfect!

Result — 1,062 cookies, 177 bags and almost $1,000 raised!  The girls were invited to attend the agency Christmas party so they could meet all the families they touched with their labor of love.  It was an amazing experience witnessing God’s work and love.

The clients went home with baskets filled with toys, blankets and other goodies.   Watching others receive the blessing of two, innocent girls who just mixed together a few ingredients, was priceless.  They were even recognized by the United Methodist Women for their mission work and each received their own UMW service pin!  I couldn’t have been more proud!

They are older now.  Different schools and busy lives of being active teenagers has tabled their Flour Girls project in the last few years.  But, they will return this summer to offer Lemon Sugar Cookies to benefit the Arborlawn UMC Food Pantry.  If you would like to donate toward their cause, send me an email and I will make sure you are at the top of the list to receive their homemade goodness!