Daily Sitka Sentinel

Sitka Boys’ Cookies Aid Syrian Refugees

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    A Syrian refugee family arrived safely in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Thursday, thanks in part to the baking skills and fundraising efforts of the LaPerriere boys of Sitka.

    From left, brothers Lucky, Blake and Nate LaPerriere. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

    Nate, Blake and Dane (who goes by “Lucky”) received word Thursday that a Syrian mom and her two young adult daughters had just arrived in Halifax, where a nearby community had raised $20,000 (in Canadian dollars) to sponsor the family.
    The LaPierriere brothers wanted to share the good news with the community, since so many Sitkans donated to the effort.
    In January 2016 the boys heard from their mom, Jenn Lawlor, that a group in Prospect, Nova Scotia, was raising funds to help bring a refugee family displaced by the Syrian civil war to Canada. Their aunt, Allison Lawlor, lives in Prospect, and organized the project there, setting up a GoFundMe crowd-source fundraising campaign.
    The boys decided to get involved.
    “We thought it was something worth doing,” said Blake, 15. “We felt we were so fortunate, that we should do something.”
    His younger brothers, Nate, 11, and Lucky, 7, agreed with the plan. But how to raise the money?
    “We’ve sold a lot of cookies to tourists on cruise ships over the years, and it’s always been successful,” Blake said.
    Together they baked hundreds of chocolate chip cookies, and sat at Sea Mart grocery store with a donations jar in mid March last year. They had a computer available for shoppers to check out the fundraiser, but stayed away from the politics of the civil war and refugee crisis.
    Nate said they created a big sign inviting Sitkans to take a cookie and donate to help bring the family to Canada.
    Five days of cookie baking and fundraising added $1,000 (U.S. dollars) to the effort. That’s about $1,300 in Canadian dollars, which was deposited into the GoFundMe account.
    They learned later the organizers had met their goal, but didn’t find out until Thursday that the Syrian family had made it to Halifax, a city of over 400,000, Lawlor said.
    “I felt pretty excited,” Blake said. “It felt good, we actually made fundraising happen and made some difference. Helping this family, I felt good about that.”
    What about his brothers? “The same,” Nate nodded.
    “Just same,” Lucky said.
    Their mother said when she was at the Sea Mart table with the boys the shoppers going by appeared receptive to the fundraiser.
    “I wasn’t always there, but when I was, a lot of Sitkans were very happy we were doing this,” Lawlor said. “It made them happy to know they were helping someone in Syria.”
    The boys said they did get their share of responses from those who were “not super into it,” Blake said. “Mostly it was pretty positive.”
    The LaPerriere-Lawlor family members said they didn’t know anything about the refugees, but are interested in finding out how they’re doing, and if more help is needed.
    “I want to keep in touch and see how they get along,” Blake said.
    The boys received a photo of the family today, showing them arriving at the Halifax airport, and members of the Prospect community who helped.
    The LaPerriere boys were born and raised in Sitka, and enjoy a number of outdoor pursuits. Blake likes blacksmithing, fishing and hunting, Lucky enjoys “playing” in general, as does Nate. “Just play around, and stuff,” Nate said.
    Their mom homeschools them, and their dad, Zach LaPerriere, is a bowl turner and woodworker. They have lived in Sitka since 2000.