Baking Gals

I’ve said before on my blog that baking does not come naturally to me, but I will give it a shot every now and then. Allyson, my baking friend introduced me to Baking Gals this past week and I was immediately hooked. Baking GALS (GALS stands for Give A Little Support) is a group of volunteer bakers who bake and ship homemade goodies to our heroic troops that are currently deployed. Each soldier is "Hosted" by a blogger, and bakers are "recruited" from the bloggers own site as well as the GALS site. Each Host recruits between 20-25 bakers, meaning LOTS of goodies get delivered to our soldier...so many, in fact that he or she has plenty to share with their fellow troops!

Why do we do it this way? Why not just ship to "Any Soldier"? Well, we don't know "any soldier" - and "any soldier" doesn't know us. And receiving baked goods from a stranger, while probably safe, is frowned upon and in many cases, those gifts could be thrown out. Baking GALS will introduce you to a soldier and you will know his/her name, a little bit about them, maybe even their favorite cookie...and they will know in advance to expect a cookie bombardment - so everyone is prepared.

Message from Allyson:
Not only have I recently discovered my love of baking, this project touches my heart on a more personal level. I come from a military family -- both of my grandfathers served in world War II. My father and mother were both in the Army, and I was even born on a military base in Georgia. My father has been on active duty and in the reserves most of his life, including serving in Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. But on my mind today is my brother, who graduated from Texas A&M University after serving in the Corps of Cadets, and was commissioned in the Army. He leaves this Saturday for his first assignment, and I'm going to meet him on the road with a big care package of homemade sweets. Although his assignment is in the United States, our soldiers all over the world could use a reminder of how much all of us back home miss them, admire their dedication, and pray for their safety.

Just look at how much Allyson's brother loves cookies!

Even though I’m not the world’s best baker, I have joined Allyson and all the other bakers on Baking Gals to share a little bit of home with our troops serving overseas. For more information on how you can get involved, visit http://www.bakinggals.com/. Give a little support... BAKE!