INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Kindness goes a long way.
A Colorado-based natural food company said that adage proved true when Stacey Rapp and her family used an old, nearly non-functional oven to bake cookies for Rapp’s best friend’s son. The son, 14-year-old Brenton, was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2018 following an annual family trip.
Officials with the food company, Bobo’s, said Rapp, of Vero Beach, stayed loyal to her friend Mandy Gaudreault, and Brenton. Rapp’s loyalty earned her an oven makeover, where she received a Big Chill Retro Oven, donated through a partnership between Bobo’s and Big Chill, a Colorado-founded line of retro kitchen appliances.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY BOBO’s
Rapp made several trips to St. Petersburg to visit the family, organized several fundraisers to go toward Brenton’s medical bills and delivered hand-baked chocolate chip cookies to Brenton while he was in the hospital for surgery, officials said. Rapp’s generosity, and her cookies, did not go unnoticed.
“Stacey is the ultimate friend, sacrificing her own needs to ensure she was there for our family during the most difficult time in our lives,” Gaudreault said in a statement. “Despite her own challenges and her oven acting up, she managed to bake the most delicious, homemade chocolate chip cookies, bringing a sense of home when it was needed most. Even though some of the cookies were crispy and others half-baked, they were delicious.”
Gaudreault nominated Rapp for the Bobo’s ‘Oven Bake-Over’ contest. Rapp’s dedication to her best friend made her stand out among more than 400 applicants, officials said.
Bobo’s delivered the 30-inch turquoise oven to Rapp’s home Nov. 18 – just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.
“We’re thrilled to have the chance to honor Stacey and family this holiday season,” said TJ McIntyre, CEO of Bobo’s. “As a brand that began as a mother-daughter baking tradition, simple ingredients and an oven, we recognize that there is no better way to bring a family together than through a home cooked meal.”
In July 2018, Rapp created a GoFundMe page on behalf of Gaudreault for Brenton’s medical expenses. The page showed more than $20,000 had been raised for Brenton.
The last update, from March, showed that Brenton was finishing up his last chemotherapy session and was near the end of his treatment. Brenton was scheduled for a surgery to remove his lung nodules, according to the page.
“He has been hanging tough for eight months now and this is a huge milestone,” Gaudreault said on the page. “He has made it through this grueling treatment without a single fever or need for transfusion, something we were told would be impossible.”