After being laid off from her job, Liz Tierney began spending her weekends baking approximately 100 cookies and placing them in one of the Little Free Libraries close to her residence. The gesture, which started as a personal response to an uncertain period, has since become a weekly ritual that draws neighbors together.
Tierney said she used the time after her layoff to consider how she might contribute positively to the world around her. A few years later, the cookies she leaves out are typically claimed within minutes, according to DailyGood | News That Inspires.
A neighbor described the effect as a welcome influence on the community, noting that the response can sometimes be overwhelming, with lines forming down the street. Tierney said she had not anticipated how much of an impact the simple act of making cookies would have on the community.
The experience has also changed Tierney herself. "I underestimated what it would do for me," she told DailyGood | News That Inspires. "I'm meeting neighbors I didn't know. I am connecting with people deeper than I have before. I take walks and say hi to people that I've never known before."
The weekly baking effort, which began as a way to fill a void left by unemployment, has grown into a source of connection for Tierney and a point of anticipation for those who pass by the Little Free Library where the cookies appear each weekend.
