For years before I have baked with my grandmother and mom during the holiday season. Every year we would bake hundreds of cookies for our family, friends, and the retirement home where my grandfather passed away. We would spend hours in the kitchen churning out cookies and packaging them up. We'd drive around the city to everyone on our cookie list to drop them off. I remember seeing how excited people got when we brought them our cookies, and it made all the hard work worth it. Through them, I was able to see firsthand just how much joy baking can bring. 

I began Joe's Cookies at the beginning of 8th grade as part of a passion project assignment. My objective was simple: create a small business that would have a positive impact on my community. I started out raising money and foodstuffs for a local food bank in my neighborhood. Soon after, the business grew, and continued to expand beyond my wildest anticipations.

Recently, my focus has shifted. The Los Angeles demonstrations spurred by the murder of George Floyd have inspired me to begin raising money for the Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter and COVID-19 relief in communities of color.

Our work isn't done, and it probably won't be for a very long time.   But, that does not mean the work isn't worth doing.