For a decade, we had the privilege of partnering with Cookie Cart, a beloved nonprofit urban bakery founded in 1988 by the late Sister Jean Thuerauf. Cookie Cart empowers teens through hands-on job experience, teaching baking, leadership, and life skills in a supportive and creative environment.

Sister Jean’s journey began long before the bakery’s doors opened. After leaving her teaching job in an affluent community, she answered a personal calling to serve youth in North Minneapolis. She began baking cookies with neighborhood teens in her home, helping with homework and selling their treats from a cart outside her house. When her kitchen could no longer keep up with demand, the North Minneapolis bakery was born. In 2018, Cookie Cart expanded its impact with a second location on Saint Paul’s East Side. Since its founding, the organization has served more than 12,000 young people.

Our work began with event design for Cookie Cart’s annual Chefs’ Dinner fundraiser and quickly expanded into strategic PR and media outreach. Over the years, we secured numerous media placements, reaching nearly 50 in a single year—including preparing the bakery manager for a segment on The Today Show. Our sustained outreach helped drive a 37% increase in sales over six years.

We promoted seasonal offerings, special events, and milestones like the opening of the Saint Paul bakery, and consistently earned print, radio, and TV coverage for Cookie Cart’s mission and programs—amplifying its message and helping grow both its reach and community support.

https://cookiecart.org/

Project Sample:
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/video/all-about-cookie-carts-15th-annual-chefs-dinner/