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WILTON, Conn. If you head over to the basketball games at Wiltons Comstock Community Center, youll meet 9-year-olds Zach Sherman and Taylor Lamantia, who are selling cookies to raise money to donate to the town food bank.
Saturday, Dec. 17, will be the third time Zach and Taylor have set up their cookie shop. They have already earned $240, which theyll use to purchase Stop & Shop gift cards to give to the Wilton Food Bank.
This started with the Disneys Friends For Change, a program that pushes children to help the world, communities and the planet. Zach said it inspired him to ask Taylor to help him set up a project that could help the community in some way. They wrote a two-page paper and presented it to their principal at Cider Mill Elementary and their class to gain more support. After they were told that it was too late in the year to start their project, the two friends decided to help in a different way - by baking cookies.
We said OK, we cant do that, but we can still help people, Zach said. It makes me feel super good that Im helping people. Its not about getting stuff, its about giving.
Zach's mom, Alison, is the driver and the cookie dough purchaser but said the project was all the kids' idea.
The kids, they just got inspired, Alison said. And her friend, Jennifer Balin, owner of restaurant and bakery Sugar & Olives in Norwalk, loved the idea and offered the use of her commercial kitchen to bake the cookies.
Once the kids finish selling their cookies Saturday, theyll take a break for the holidays. But Zach said they plan to start again with the basketball season at Comstock and to keep going through summer.
Alison said, Were not sure about the details, except they really feel inspired to keep it going.
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