What if your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe could help bring relief to those suffering in the Middle East?
It may sound silly, but a new grassroots interfaith fundraising initiative recently launched in Santa Barbara aims to do just that.
United We Bake is raising funds by selling home-baked goods through old-fashioned bake sales, with proceeds benefitting Direct Relief’s humanitarian work in both Israel and Gaza.
The effort brings people together of different faiths, backgrounds and beliefs through the comforting power of food.
Local resident Kelly Brotman came up with the idea hoping to find a way to help alleviate the suffering people are facing in both Gaza and Israel, and bring people together rather than exacerbate deep and polarizing divisions.
Brotman approached Rabbi Steve Cohen at Congregation B’nai B’rith who embraced the idea and invited other faith communities to join.
“The amount of money we raise may be trivial,” said Cohen. “But the amount of goodwill we can build in our community is profound.”
“I love to bake and I wanted to bring different cultures together and help bring peace,” said Brotman, who launched her campaign at Congregation B’nai B’rith’s Nov. 19 Mitzvah Day event.
Other organizations and communities are invited to participate by holding their own bake sales and donating the proceeds to Direct Relief, an apolitical, non-sectarian international relief organization headquartered in Goleta, supporting civilians, regardless of their politics and religion.
Direct Relief has provided an initial commitment of more than $1 million toward humanitarian relief efforts in Israel and Gaza, and has offered extensive medical inventories and other resources, including international logistics assistance needed to mobilize medications or medical commodities in the region.
In order to track all contributors, email rabbi@cbbsb.org if you and/or your organization participates.
To make an online donation directly or learn more, visit https://donate.directrelief.org/campaign/united-we-bake/c539019.