As the Hawk Fire forced Northern Nevada residents from their homes and brought firefighters, emergency personnel and members of the Nevada National Guard into action across the region, a group of Jewish students at the University of Nevada, Reno decided they wanted to do something to help. 

On Sunday afternoon, students gathered at Chabad at the University with a simple goal: bring a little sweetness and support to people facing an incredibly difficult time. Together, the students baked and packaged approximately 500 fresh cookies for people affected by the fire and those working to protect the community.

Within hours, Chabad was transformed into a makeshift bakery. Students mixed dough, baked hundreds of cookies, packaged them individually and prepared them to be distributed throughout the community.

Later that evening, the students loaded up the cookies and headed to the evacuation shelter, where they personally distributed them to people displaced by the fire. From there, the students continued delivering cookies and expressing their gratitude to firefighters, first responders, members of the Nevada National Guard, Red Cross volunteers and others working through the emergency.

“When the fire broke out, our students didn’t want to just watch the news and feel helpless,” said Rabbi Dani Libersohn, director of Chabad at the University. “They wanted to do something real. Baking those cookies took hours, and driving around to deliver them took even more, but every single person who took one felt it. That is what this was about: showing evacuees, firefighters, National Guard members and others on the front lines that our students see them, appreciate them and are grateful for them.” 

Chabad is the campus organization dedicated to Jewish life at the University of Nevada, Reno, offering programming, community, education and support for Jewish students throughout the year. Organizers say Sunday’s effort reflected a value they try to instill in every student who walks through their doors: giving, sharing and showing up for others is not an abstract ideal. It is something you can act on the same day a crisis hits.

“Chabad at UNR is a local nonprofit, but our reach goes well beyond our own students,” Libersohn said. “Nights like this remind us why we do this work. It changes the students who bake and deliver the cookies just as much as it impacts the person receiving one.”