Cookies for a Cause
NEWS@Wheaton, December 2004
Wheaton senior Claire LaFrance and the 27 other residents of Emerson House, a themed student residence whose members promote awareness of women's issues, hoped to ease the anguish of fall semester finals with a fundraiser aimed at easing the transition for participants in the New Hope Battered Women's Program.
On Dec. 15 and16, students on campus were invited to dial the Emerson House cookie hotline from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. to arrange a tasty study break. Emerson House residents baked the cookies to order, delivering them to campus dorms and collecting funds to support programs at women's shelters in Attleboro, Taunton and several other Southeastern Massachusetts towns.
LaFrance, president of Emerson House and a political science major, says that the mission of Emerson House is to focus on the "social power of women at Wheaton in community service and devotion to giving back to society." Earlier this semester the group sponsored a Halloween for Humanity, during which they went trick-or-treating for food donations for New Hope, a national organization with local affiliates working to prevent domestic violence and assist at-risk families.
Emerson House's most recent event, a Jamaican dinner on campus, raised more than $1,000 for the Craig Town Youth Organization (CTYO) of Kingstown, Jamaica. Wheaton senior Fiona McQuade, a religion major, worked with CTYO during her junior year abroad and knew that growing unrest in the Caribbean nation was draining funds from the organization's much-needed educational programming for both children and adults. McQuade plans to return to Jamaica and CTYO during the upcoming winter break.
LaFrance sees the cookie catering as an ideal avenue for reaching out to the Wheaton community. "We wanted to have a chance to meet people we would never bump into," she said. "Delivering cookies is a great way to meet people, share information about fundraising and local charities and make a statement about activism on campus."
At the same time, the students hope their fundraising will lead to stronger ties between Wheaton and the regional community.
"Wheaton students can be an amazing force on campus and in the local volunteer community," LaFrance said. "We know we're privileged to be college students and we want to giving something back."
More NEWS@Wheaton for December 2004.