WACO, TX — After selling over 150 dozen cookies in a little over two weeks to raise money for her son’s baseball team, Andrea Smedshammer got the idea to start her own business with a goal to bake “cookies with purpose.”
“We have a famous cookie recipe in our family, and so I advertised and sold cookies to raise money for his baseball and sold a lot... I just got encouragement from friends from that who said, ‘Hey, you could start a business.’” said Smedshammer, owner of Cookie Barn.
The Cookie Barn is an online-based cookie shop that donates a portion of the profits towards Encourage One Another, a nonprofit that supports foster and adoptive families.
“My family has benefited greatly from being a part of Encourage One Another. We are an adoptive and foster family," said Smedshammer. "The partnering really is just exciting. So as the Cookie Barn grows, the exciting thing is the support that all these families have.”
Smedshammer founded the Cookie Barn back in March of last year, and since then has donated over $2,000 to E1A.
“When you foster and when you adopt, even though there is beautiful things that come with that... there also can be a lot of heartache and trauma that the children bring along with them due to their circumstances, and sometimes that can be really overwhelming for families," she said.
What started as a fundraiser has now turned into a business that ships to clients nationwide. While the Cookie Barn continues to grow, Smedshammer will continue to bake cookies and support a cause that's close to the heart.
Cookie Barn delivers all over the United States and has a pickup location. They deliver locally in the Waco, Texas, area. To order some cookies, click here.
