Thousands of cookies were delivered to the Woman’s Club of South Pasadena on May 22 as part of “Operation Cookie,” which aims to provide cookies to hospitalized, homeless and special needs veterans.
Donors of all ages from as far away as Oxnard and San Diego donated the cookies. There were also several innovative last-minute deliveries via Instacart from dedicated cookie donors, as well as an overnight Fed Ex delivery of fresh baked cookies from a donor in Clovis.
Additionally, dozens of cookies came from Priority One Credit Union employees Daniel Ballesteros and Vilija Leskauskaite, who collected the treats from their coworkers and delivered them for “Operation Cookie.” The fourth-grade robotics class at San Pasqual STEAM Magnet in Los Angles held a special cookie drive and donated more than 1,000 cookies, and South Pasadena High School students from SkillsUSA worked hard the evening before the “big day” to receive and assemble cookies. The high schoolers ended up packing more than 200 boxes worth of cookies for veterans.
More than 50 volunteers from the Greater Los Angeles area also joined in to help receive, sort and pack the cookies on the “assembly line.” The cookies were packaged in patriotically decorated containers saluting veterans, and they were delivered in time for Memorial Day.
The cookies were taken to area VA hospital patients in spinal cord injury facilities; general and post-surgery facilities; nursing, convalescent and hospice care facilities; and PTSD/psychological care units. Among the groups that received cookies included homeless veterans served by the VA, the Wounded Warriors Battalion at Camp Pendleton, Military Women in Need and the Jimmy Miller Foundation in Manhattan Beach, where ocean therapy for veterans are available.
First published in the May 31 print issue of the South Pasadena Review.
