Children’s Organ Transplant Association helps family pay medical bills
Turn off your ovens, put away your rolling pins, and don’t bother going to the store for more flour. Instead, head to Beacon on Saturday, April 13, for the Bake Sale for Baby Felix and stock up on homemade treats for a good cause. From 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., Zora Dora Paletaría at 201 Main St. will be filled with freshly baked goods made by amateur as well as professional bakers and confectioners.
The bake sale will be held in honor of Felix Koch, an 8-month-old boy who was born with a rare, life-threatening condition called biliary atresia, which is a blockage of the bile ducts between the liver and small intestine. Felix was one of the lucky ones; on his 6-month birthday, thanks to a selfless organ donor, he received a new liver.
But even with health insurance, Felix’s parents are facing enormous medical expenses as a result of the surgery, treatments and countless doctor and hospital visits. His parents, teachers Kate and Branden Koch of Brooklyn, have asked for assistance from the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA), and a group of friends and family volunteers, led by Kristen Cronin and Tara Tornello of Beacon, are working with COTA to raise funds for Felix and other children like him. One hundred percent of proceeds from the bake sale will benefit COTA in honor of Felix.
A wide array of sweet and savory treats will be available at the bake sale. Freshly squeezed lemonade will also be sold. Purchases may be made with cash only.
Almost 35 bakers and confectioners from all over the Hudson Valley are donating their time and talents to help contribute to this worthy cause. Some of these include Lagusta’s Luscious, a New Paltz-based artisanal chocolate shop, donating 100 of their fair-trade, gluten-free, vegan chocolates; CIA-trained former Roundhouse pastry chef Marissa Sertich, donating her scones; Beacon Bagel, donating their housemade pretzels; and Walnut Grove Farms in Montgomery, donating eight dozen of their farm-fresh eggs to the bakers.
