Wilsonville sisters bake for a cause

(WILSONVILLE) — Yaamini and Vaani Aga, both 16 years old, have been baking for as long as they can remember.

The girls recalled joining their mom in the kitchen at a young age, baking cookies and helping make loaf cakes for Christmas. As their skills grew, Vaani said they started making cakes for friends and family.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, the girls were nearing the end of sixth grade. The news showed high death tolls, and Vaani said her parents both work in hospitals — allowing the girls to hear about the coronavirus from those on the front lines of fighting it.

Aware of the difficult times the world was facing, Vaani said she and her sister were inspired to use their baking skills to help the community.

“We were like, ‘We have a talent that we want to use to do something good with,’” Vaani said.

The sisters decided to sell homemade baked goods, ranging from scones to banana bread, to community members on a donation basis. They said people were “generous” with donations, paying an average of $20 to $50 for their treats.

The girls have held three fundraisers: two during the pandemic and one last summer to support Maui, Hawaii, during the devastating wildfires.

Combined, their fundraising efforts raised over $4,000, aiding the local community as well as communities abroad.

For their first fundraiser, the girls raised $1,000 for the Wilsonville Community Sharing, an organization that operates a food bank and provides social services in Wilsonville. But they didn’t have a specific organization in mind when they started.

The sisters said they began selling the baked goods with the intention of community fundraising, and the decision on where to donate the money came later.

When they decided to fundraise, Yaamini said her mom made a Facebook post with the girls’ menu. They took orders from community members, who could pick up the order from the Agas’ house or have it delivered.

“My mom posted on Facebook, and then we got a bunch of orders,” Yaamini said, adding that she recalls the sisters began baking that night.

The sisters said they eventually chose to donate the money to Wilsonville Community Sharing because it is a local organization.

Vaani said seeing the results of her efforts felt good and helped inspire them to do more for the community.

After donating to Wilsonville Community Sharing, the girls raised $2,000 for the Chinmaya Organization for Rehabilitation and Development by Undertaking Sustainable Activities, or CORDUSA. They said the organization helps raise money for people in poverty in India and, at the time, helped provide more ventilators.

The girls heard about the organization through their Sunday school, Chinmaya Mission Portland. They said this donation was personal, as their parents immigrated to the United States from India, and their grandparents currently live in India.

They said the pandemic hit India harder than the United States due to a lack of resources and a large population that could not afford care.

“I was actually pretty scared for my grandparents,” Vaani said. “Because we weren’t sure what type of health care they would get if they got COVID.”

The girls said they fundraised throughout the summer before seventh grade in 2020. After donating to CORDUSA, they took a break from baking for a cause until last summer when wildfires spread throughout Maui.

The Agas were on vacation in Hawaii just one week before wildfires devastated the island. Vaani said they fell in love with Lahaina, the city they visited, and were sad to see the damage to places they visited.

“We were pointing out things on the pictures (from the wildfires), where we’d been walking a week before, and it was just pretty devastating to see,” Vaani said.

Inspired to fundraise again, the girls began taking more orders. Their mom said in an email that the girls donated to Maui Strong, an organization providing financial support to people and places affected by the Maui wildfires, according to the website.

The girls said they raised $1,200 for the organization in just one week.

While they don’t plan to run another fundraising campaign, the sisters said they would be open to doing it again.

The girls said community fundraising is important because it brings people together.

“It’s a way for people to express their gratitude for the community,” Vaani said. “When someone takes the initiative, it just really brings everyone together.”

Caption 1: Twin sisters Vaani and Yaamini Aga, sophomores at Wilsonville High School, are Wilsonville’s Amazing Kids.

PMG photo: Jaime Valdez

Caption 2: Vaani and Yaamini Aga use their baking skills to raise money for various causes.

PMG photo: Jaime Valdez

Caption: Vaani and Yaamini Aga have raised money for pandemic relief and aid to Maui following last year's wildfire, among other causes.

PMG photo: Jaime Valdez