The Fort Worth Alumnae Chapter, Dallas Alumnae Chapter and Austin Alumnae Chapter all host their own Cookies & Castles gingerbread house decorating events to raise money for their local children’s hospitals. These gingerbread extravaganzas provide attendees with their own gingerbread houses or gingerbread men, icing and every treat imaginable to create a gingerbread masterpiece – and, sometimes, a visit from Santa. Individual events can include a ladies’ luncheon, family day for the kids, and even a tween decorating party.
The Fort Worth Alumnae Chapter and Phi Lambda Chapter at Texas Christian University hosted the first Cookies & Castles event in 2001. Since then, it has raised more than $820,000 to support Cook Children’s Hospital and a collegiate scholarship endowed with the Tri Delta Foundation. The Dallas Alumnae Chapter started its own Cookies & Castles in 2008 and has raised more than $416,722 for Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children and the Tri Delta Foundation.
The Austin Alumnae Chapter, who held its first Cookies & Castles event in 2016, fundraises for the Dell Children’s Blood & Cancer Center. The Austin Alumnae Chapter’s support of Dell Children’s is just two years in the making, and in 2017, the chapter met its goal of raising $5,000 for the hospital, doubling the amount it had raised the previous year.
Over the past 17 years, these popular “Gingerbread Extravaganzas” have raised more than $1.2 million for three different children’s hospitals in three different cities, helping children across Texas. In the process, Cookies & Castles has become a cherished holiday tradition for Tri Deltas, their families and the community. Click here to learn more about the Cookies and Castles events.
If you would like to learn more about starting a Cookies & Castle’s in your area please email the Tri Delta Foundation at foundation@trideltaeo.org.