Cookie walk helps raise money for a number of different groups

By Thomas Nelson, tnelson@charlescitypress.com

First Congregation Church held its annual cookie walk Saturday morning.

The cookies are homemade by the women of the church and sold by the box, by weight.

“I can’t even tell you how long we’ve been doing this,” said Lana Miller, adding the church has had the event since before she was a member 30 years ago.

“It’s always the first Saturday in December,” Miller said.

The event went from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the First Congregation Church in Charles City.

The event features a coffee shop and door prize for participants.

“People come in, they take a tray and box and gloves,” Miller said. “They can go around the table and choose whatever cookies they want to take home.”

The group offers the holiday cookies as an alternative to making them in one’s own home.

“We’ve done the baking for them,” Miller said.

The money raised from the cookies goes to the Women’s Fellowship fund at the First Congregational Church.

“From there we funnel it out to various different places,” Miller said, including the Salvation Army and food pantries.

The cookie walk usually brings in about $1,000, Miller said. “That money just goes in that pot,” she said.

A large variety of cookies are offered.

“I think everybody gets satisfied with what they choose,” Miller said.

The cookies that aren’t sold don’t go to waste. The women give them to the Charles City Police Department, Fire Department, Floyd County Sheriff and other services and if there are still cookies left over after that get saved for the Christmas Eve service.

No cookie gets wasted.