Chamber Young Professionals (CYP) is an organization that provides professionals 40 years and younger opportunities to network and educate themselves on important issues facing the greater Owensboro area.
This year’s CYP philanthropy chair, Hannah Thurman, considered ways the organization could give back to the community while incorporating service and group volunteer opportunities.
Thurman contacted Volunteer Owensboro, an organization that draws attention to the community needs in regards to volunteerism. She asked what needs there were for a group volunteer setting and the Munday Activity Center, now the Senior Community Center of Owensboro-Daviess County “thought it would be neat to have a group come in and bake.”
The CYP volunteers decided that twice this year, they would provide cookie dough and come to the center’s kitchen to bake cookies to be included with the center’s Meals On Wheels program.
“We chose to space it in the spring and fall on either end of holidays because we thought these might be times they [participants in the meal program] might not get a special treat,” Thurman said.
In March 2018, eight CYP volunteers signed up to bake cookies at the center’s kitchen. They baked enough cookies to include two with each meal — 300 total.
“They have a great kitchen space with a huge oven,” Thurman said. Volunteers rolled, baked and wrapped the cookies in a little over two hours.
This Thursday, Oct. 18, Thurman hopes to still pick up a few members for the service project; so far 15 have signed up for the 5 to 8 p.m. volunteer opportunity.
“I have three 25-pound buckets of chocolate chip cookie dough,” Thurman said, already planning for the 15 extra meals on wheels being served.
Thurman thinks that the Senior Community Center was looking for the right community partnership.
“We were eager to jump on board,” Thurman said.
