'An Outlet To Help': Bakers Draw Customer Wait List Over 200 To Help Ukraine

VIENNA, VA — After a bakers' fundraiser to benefit Ukraine sold out in seven minutes last week, the bakers from 13 Northern Virginia bakeries finished coordinating, baking, packaging and distributing their baked goods in a matter of days. Even as they gathered to celebrate the successful fundraiser Tuesday evening, the work isn't over.

The Local Bakers Bake for Ukraine fundraiser has generated a wait list over 200, Sarah Marshall, the owner of the Sweet Life NoVA who coordinated the fundraiser, told Patch. The fundraiser plans to hold another round of orders later in March to tackle the wait list.

The fundraiser had come together in a matter of days last week. Marshall reached out to her friend Sarah Fiacco, owner of Little Carousels Macarons Co., to see how she could help. Marshall began contacting other bakers she knew or heard of.

By last Wednesday, 13 bakeries from Northern Virginia committed to the fundraiser, each offering treats to put in the baked goods boxes. Baker Jenny McArthur of Flourloom even doubled as a designer, quickly providing the group with a logo and information sheet. By Thursday, the sale sold out in seven minutes, with each customer providing a minimum $75 donation. The 24 boxes in that initial order were packaged Sunday and distributed Monday, raising just over $2,500.

Those meetings to assemble the boxes were the first time many of these bakers met each other in person. They got additional time to get to know each other Tuesday and share their treats with each other at Madeleine Proust in Vienna.

One of the participating bakers is Slava Dutchak, a Ukrainian immigrant who has been in the U.S. for eight years. The Local Bakers Bake for Ukraine fundraiser is one of three she is participating in to raise funds for Ukraine. Dutchak told Patch this fundraiser gave local residents "an outlet to help" Ukraine.

"I felt powerless in the first few days, but I feel able to do something," Dutchak said about her decision to bake after Russia invaded her home country.

Cook for Ukraine, another fundraiser Dutchak started with her sister, has raised over $170,000 for World Central Kitchen through a borscht-making class. The nonprofit headed by chef José Andrés is providing meals to Ukrainians. Dutchak is also selling her "horishky" walnut-shaped cookies on her own and plans to join another borscht-making class.

Dutchak will continue her baking, as she says Ukraine need relief money now and will later need more to rebuild.

The Ukrainian invasion also hits close to home for baker Ola Rokita, who is from neighboring Poland. Ukrainian refugees have been escaping to Poland, where Rokita has friends offering homes to Ukrainians or helping them get adjusted in the schools.

"I wanted to do something for a while. A lot of my friends in Poland are helping Ukrainians," Rokita told Patch.

Rokita, who specializes in Eastern European treats at her Ola's Bakery, praised the bakers for balancing the fundraiser with their busy work and home schedules.

"They're incredible. They have so much energy. They are so thoughtful and kind. Many of them are moms like me," Rokita said.

"The majority are baking on the side. They have full-time jobs," added Elizabeth Masturzo of Delicioso Decor.

Participants in the first round of fundraisers included Sarah Marshall of The Sweet Life NoVA, Sarah Fiacco of Little Carousels Macarons Co, Charmaine DuBois of Bake to Bless, Amber-Therese Foster of Lucy Q's, Jenny McArthur of Flourloom, Angela Lenihan of Momma Lemon's Treats, Elizabeth Masturzo of Delicioso Decor, Victoria Guarino of Harper G Designs, Slava Dutchak of Honey Love Cakery, Jesse Woo of Madeleine Proust, Jamie Bruen of Sweet Gratitude Bakery, Ola Rokita of Ola's Bakery, Madeleine Abel of From Maddie's Kitchen, and Stephanie and Josh Sinins of Treats and Sweets 4 U.

About 20 new bakers are lined up to tackle the next round of treat boxes, according to Marshall. The next effort will largely include bakers who didn't participate in the first round. Marshall hopes they can raise more than double the $2,500 from the first round. The main recipients of the fundraiser are World Central Kitchen and Save the Children.