Community Corner

Baking Fundraiser For Ukraine Reaches $6,300 In Northern Virginia

Additional funds to support Ukrainian relief were raised by Northern Virginia bakers, and the final fundraiser will be a silent auction.

Local Bakers Bake for Ukraine has raised $6,300 and is planning a silent auction to raise additional funds for Ukrainian relief.
Local Bakers Bake for Ukraine has raised $6,300 and is planning a silent auction to raise additional funds for Ukrainian relief. (Emily Leayman/Patch )

VIENNA, VA — After initial success of Northern Virginia bakers' fundraiser for Ukraine, thousands more have been raised for relief efforts, and a final round of fundraising is planned.

Sarah Marshall, owner of Vienna-based The Sweet Life NoVA, coordinated the group of bakers to put together boxes of baked goods with all proceeds benefiting organizations helping Ukrainian people. Local Bakers Bake for Ukraine started with an initial sale that sold out in seven minutes. Then the wait list grew to hundreds. In all, 29 bakers have raised $6,300 to support Ukraine. The main recipients of the fundraiser are World Central Kitchen, Save the Children and United Help Ukraine.

The first round of the fundraiser drew 13 bakeries to participate and raised $2,500. Those 24 boxes were prepared and distributed within days of the fundraiser being organized. A wait list was created in case the bakers could do future orders.

Find out what's happening in Viennafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

The second round is in progress to address some of the wait list. There are 20 participating bakeries in the second round, largely made up of new participants who wanted to join. The second round of orders raised another $3,800, bringing the fundraiser's grand total to $6,300.

One of the Local Bakers Bake for Ukraine participants is Slava Dutchak, who came to the U.S. from Ukraine eight years ago. Dutchek made her horishky, cookies shaped like walnuts and filled with dulce de leche. Courtesy of Slava Dutchak

The third and final round of the fundraiser will be a silent auction, The Sweet Life NoVA shared on Facebook. All participating bakers were invited to donate one item. The auction will be open for bids starting March 27 through April 3. All proceeds will be donated to charities supporting Ukraine.

Find out what's happening in Viennafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.