The recent Wachusett Supporting Sisters bake sale fundraiser was a rousing success thanks to a plethora of goodies club members contributed and a donation of dozens of cookies and treats from Rutland-based BZ Bakers.
The Feb. 8 event was held during all lunch periods at Wachusett Regional High School. Club founder and president Ellie Daly said that it “went better than we could have expected,” and that it brought in $756.
“It was chaos, but in a good way!” the 17-year-old Sterling senior said. “We were swarmed with people for most of the periods, and in the end, we sold every last item.”
While they aren’t quite sure what they want to do with the money raised, she said they will “likely use it to host future fundraisers and events, maybe even use it to spoil our girls a little bit, because they deserve it.”
Daly runs Wachusett Supporting Sisters along with her best friend Grace Lennon, a fellow WRHS senior who serves as the vice president of the growing club. Daly said they are very grateful for all the support they have been shown since launching the club this school year. It has grown from a handful of members to nearly 100 strong in a fairly short amount of time.
“Having support from the people around us is beyond amazing and, to be honest, a little surprising,” Daly said. “Sometimes with everything that’s going on in the world right now, we forget that people can be so generous and kind. We can’t thank everyone enough who has supported the Wachusett Supporting Sisters through our journey so far, and we hope to have your continued support.”
Two of their newest supporters are the owners of BZ Bakers (facebook.com/bzbakers), Sarah Boutotte and Leanne Zecco. The female business owners contacted Daly after seeing a previous article (thelandmark.com/wachusett-supporting-sisters-is-labor-of-love) on social media about what the club was accomplishing as far as providing a safe space for young women to gather.
“Sarah emailed me saying how much she loved what our club was doing, and she told me about her business and how she would love to donate some cookies to our club,” Daly said. “I told her of our bake sale in February.”
Boutotte donated 125 cookies, and Zecco donated a dozen cake pops of varying flavors, both of which were big hits.
“The cookies looked beyond amazing, and they sold out within the first 30 minutes of first lunch,” Daly said, adding that the two women were “so nice and generous,” and that they couldn’t have been so successful without their generosity.
“After reading about the Wachusett Supporting Sisters, the mission of the group resonated with us, and we wanted to support these young women, especially since we have young daughters ourselves,” Boutotte said. “We hope that clubs that offer open arms, support and a loving community exist when our daughters are of that age. Women supporting women is a huge part of our endeavors.”
They both have strong ties to the region. Boutotte grew up in Holden and was a member of the WRHS class of 2012. She lives in Rutland with her husband — her high school sweetheart — and their two young daughters.
Zecco grew up in Hubbardston and went through the Quabbin Regional School District. She currently lives in Oakham with her husband, who grew up there, and their daughter and son.
Both the women are former educators in the Wachusett district who became stay at home moms when they had children. The entrepreneurs started BZ Bakers in October 2021 after deciding to make their love of baking “official.”
“Business is slowly picking up,” Zecco shared. “We tend to be busiest around the holidays but have been getting more and more inquiries for custom orders for birthdays and other celebrations. It means the world to have community support, especially having grown up locally.”
They have different specialties, which enables them to provide a wide variety of delectable products. Boutotte primarily does custom orders for decorated sugar cookies, specialty cookies, and celebration cakes, and Zecco creates bundt cakes and whoopie pies of various types and flavors.
They launched a self-serve bakery cart in Oakham in November that is open Saturdays and Sundays, weather permitting, and said that each weekend they get a few more customers who come by. For custom orders, they work with customers to pick up locally or meet up somewhere.
“I’ve met clients at The Blushing Bee, Howe’s, and the Holden Police Department, depending on scheduling and other order pickups,” Zecco said.
She does craft fairs and will be at Pine Acres Family Camping Resort on Oakham this summer for some of their events. Boutotte has reached out about summer concerts on the common in Rutland. While they don’t have any specific dates lined up yet, they did say they will be releasing “a condensed Easter menu for pre-ordering soon.”
Daly said they also have big plans coming up for Wachusett Supporting Sisters.
“March is Women’s history month, so we want to do something to celebrate women. We would love to work with some local businesses or have some sort of event and do something for the women of the Wachusett community.”
Anyone interested in being a part of their efforts or more information including joining the club can email Elizabethdaly24@wrsdk12.net and follow Wachusett Supporting Sisters on Facebook (facebook.com/wachu.supporting.sisters) and Instagram (instagram.com/wachu_supporting_sisters?igshid=MThwaGhrYWN5aGJwcg%3D%3D).
