Strawberry Queen Whips Up Sweets To Help Neighbors In Need

NORTH FORK, NY — Ava Grace Sannino, who was crowned the 2021 Mattituck Lions Club Strawberry Queen in June, has wasted no time using her position to shine a light of good in the community.

Ava Grace, who is 17 and a senior at Mattituck High School, decided in September to raise funds for Kait's Angels, an organization created to do good works in memory of Kaitlyn Doorhy, who died in 2014 at just 20 years old while away at college. Kaitlyn was also a former Strawberry Queen.

The first bake sale benefited Jaclyn Hinderliter, a young mom on the North Fork with breast cancer.

Next, Ava Grace decided to use her culinary talents again to host a bake sale this week, with profits to benefit her friend Bridget Ryan's mom Kathy, who is battling cancer. She organized the bake sale in coordination with the DECA club.

In advance of the sale, Ava Grace spoke with local bakeries and friends who like to bake; she also baked herself to raise funds for Ryan.

"I made brownies, cookies, and cake pops and had friends help, too," Ava Grace said.

When asked what fueled her mission, to work so hard to help others, Ava Grace said she felt inspired to give back.

"It's somewhat a tradition for the Lions Club Strawberry Queens to volunteer at Kait's Angels fundraisers, as Kait herself was a Strawberry Queen," she said. "I have loved working with Kait's Angels and all of the community members who donate their time for local families in need."

After getting approval from Darla Doorhy, Kaitlyn's mother, as well as the principal and vice-principal of her school, Ava Grace kicked her efforts into high gear, making a poster, reaching out to bakers, asking for announcements to be made at school, and telling her friends.

"Mattituck students were more than happy to help, and so far I have fundraised about $700 for local families," Ava Grace said.

Baking for good seemed a natural, she said.

"I come from a huge Italian family that just really likes to eat food, so I was always welcomed to cook or bake new things, because there would always be someone to try it," she said. "I also know that high school teenagers are looking for something sweet to eat before sports practice so a bake sale was the smartest thing for a fundraiser."

And the feeling of helping others is the sweetest reward, Ava Grace said. "Giving back this way is the best feeling, because something as simple as a bake sale can make such a difference. It truly was a win-win scenario because I like baking — and it's for a good cause."