A group of Cal Poly students and alumni are raising money for undocumented immigrants through a series of bake sales in San Luis Obispo.
Raising Together started last summer when students were looking for a way to respond to immigration issues affecting communities throughout California. Proceeds from these bake sales are donated to organizations such as 805Undocufund and Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights.
For environmental engineering senior Mytam Le, the idea came from a mix of frustration and creativity.
“I think we all kind of felt a little useless when the ICE rates are going on,we were like, oh, what can we do? We’re just little college students,” Le said. “I was also in my baking era, so I was like, guys, what if we, like, make a bake sale?”
What began as a small idea has grown into a recurring event that draws more people each time. Le said the group has learned how to adapt — from changing locations to gather more traffic, to deciding what goods to bake based on demand.
“I think we kind of just learn from our mistakes,” she said. “We don’t want to make too much, but we also notice like, oh, there’s like a certain cookie that a lot of people like.We’ll make more of that.”
Le said the timing and location of each bake sale depend on logistics, including where they are able to set up and how busy their schedules are. The group tries to plan sales earlier in the quarter before classes become more demanding, she added.
Many of the baked goods reflect the cultural background of the group’s members and have an emphasis on bringing different communities together.
“We were like, ‘okay, maybe we can kind of hone in to that and kind of embrace their culture while also trying to raise money for them,” Le said. “Kind of combining different cultures and flavors to kind of like unite us.”
Other than fundraising, Le said the bake sales also offer connection.
“When you have community and friends and do something as silly as like a bake sale to earn like a couple hundred dollars, it’s really nice,” she said. “It reminds you that you are not completely alone.”
This sense of purpose also extends to the group’s visual branding. Cal Poly art and design alum Jenni Martinez creates all the flyers, menus and artwork sold at the bake sale. She said she draws inspiration from her own personal experiences.
“I like creating art in a way to express how I’m feeling,” Martinez said. “As someone who comes from immigrants this cause really hits home for me. I try to create art that resonates with me and my heritage as being a Mexican American.”
Customers said the bake sale stands out not only for the cause but for what they have to offer. Andres Hernandez said he stopped by after seeing the table while on a walk.
“I was just walking,” he said. “It was a nice day and I was starting to get hungry, and I saw this. Usually I don’t even go to bake sales, but some of the stuff looked good.”
Local resident Miranda Donaldson has attended every bake sale since the group’s first sale and said that supporting the effort is important.
“These are people [immigrants] who are literally like our neighbors, who are feeding us and helping us and we can’t turn our backs on them,” Donaldson said. Although the future of Raising Together is undecided, as many of the members are seniors or recent graduates, the group hopes to continue to hold bake sales and build support in San Luis Obispo. For information on their next bake sale, visit their Instagram.
