Lots of people know how to throw a few cookies together for a bake sale, but few can match the volume that has come out of Marlo Kitch’s Barron Park kitchen for the past four years. “My kids and I baked about 750 cookies to get ready for the 2015 event,” Marlo said. “And they nearly all sold out!”
With this massive effort, Marlo and her three kids, along with the Toft family and their two kids, raised over $1500 for DreamCatchers, a local nonprofit organization that partners with Stanford to provide academic support and mentoring for Palo Alto Unified middle school students.
Why the massive effort? For Marlo and her family, it’s all about giving back.
As a math teacher at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto (and a former staff member at both Terman and JLS), Marlo works with kids every day that strive for a better life despite lack of access to the resources and support that her children are lucky to have. Because of this awareness, she has made it a point to engage her family in helping others through community service. But like many parents, Marlo struggled to find meaningful ways to involve all three of her children, whose age difference spans seven years.
In 2011, her kids came up with the idea of organizing a neighborhood bake sale and giving the proceeds to a local
Dream Catchers students gather for after school academic support at Paly High School
nonprofit. Marlo spent several years during college working as a pastry chef in a Stanford dorm, so baking for a crowd comes easily to her. She recruited her neighbors, the Tofts, and the two families and five kids cranked out scores of cookies, brownies and lemon bars. The event raised enough the first two years to give a generous donation to the Opportunity Center, a local nonprofit that provides support and housing for for homeless people in Palo Alto.
Starting in 2014, the annual bake sale donation has shifted to DreamCatchers, a local nonprofit that recruits Stanford undergraduates to work with middle school students in Palo Alto Unified that need academic support and mentoring. “As a former teacher at Terman, I have a place in my heart for the students served by DreamCatchers,” Marlo explains. “And it’s been great for my children and Tofts to connect with the kids at DreamCatchers, play games together and build community bonds.”
In addition to the proceeds of the bake sale, Marlo’s children also contributed a third of their allowance into a ‘charity pot,’ which was matched by their parents.
DreamCatchers’ Executive Director Barbara Klausner (a former PAUSD Board Member), is grateful to the Kitch and Toft families, and their neighbors for their donation and hard work. “This kind of outreach not only provides DreamCatchers with funds we need to help run the program, but also raises awareness about our mission of helping all Palo Alto students reach their potential,” she said. “We appreciate the collaborative effort of the Bol Park neighbors and the support of everyone who came to the bake sale this year.”
Visit DreamCatchers website to learn more about how the organization is leveraging free tutoring from Stanford undergrads to help Palo Alto Unified middle school students who need academic support and mentoring.
Dream Catchers volunteers connect with PAUSD middle school students
Dream Catchers students work 1:1 with Stanford undergraduates
