A student-led nonprofit is spreading holiday cheer while raising money for a powerful cause through its Christmas cookie fundraiser supporting children battling cancer.
Founded by juniors Nikhil Sridharan, Ethan Cheng, Ana Kim, and Shambavi Ginu, Cookies for Cures is a student-run nonprofit that sells homemade cookies to raise money for pediatric cancer patients. The organization donates its proceeds through UT THON to Dell Children’s Hospital, where funds help support treatment, research, and patient care. This Christmas season, the group has launched a new festive cookie collection to increase awareness and donations.
“Cookies for Cures is a student-founded project selling cookies to support children battling cancer,” said culinary director of the project, junior Nikhil Sridharan. “Our main purpose is to help struggling families ease the burden of paying for their child’s cancer treatments with a sweet twist.”
In addition to raising money locally, the organization works closely with UT organizations to ensure funds are properly distributed.
“Our funds go through the University of Texas at Austin,” Sridharan said. “[This is] through their program called UT THON before being sent to Dell Children’s Hospital to be distributed appropriately to the areas that need it most.”
To help boost donations during the holiday season, Cookies for Cures recently launched a new Christmas-themed cookie lineup.
“We have officially launched our Christmas cookie set with five new cookies,” Sridharan said. “Our new lineup includes a Christmas tree sugar cookie, a snickerdoodle cookie butter cookie, a brown butter toffee chocolate chip cookie, a double chocolate peppermint cookie, and a gingerbread cheesecake cookie. Each cookie is four dollars, and about 88 percent of our total revenue is donated to Dell Children’s Hospital.”
While the project focuses on fundraising, its mission is deeply personal for its members.
“Some of our own family members have sadly passed away from cancer, and we realized pediatric cancer is especially underfunded,” junior Ethan Cheng said. “We wanted to use something we enjoy, like baking cookies, to raise awareness and support kids and families fighting this battle.”
Since launching the project, the team has already seen strong support from the community.
“For this project, we have made around $1,400 from different events, including Halloween on the Farm, a profit share with Chipotle, and a UT event called Pickle for a Purpose,” junior Ana Kim said. “We are extremely grateful to our community and customers for helping us raise money and spread awareness.”
Behind the scenes, the project is run by a dedicated team of students who balance schoolwork with nonprofit responsibilities.
“I work with an amazing group of people who each have specialized roles on our team,” Sridharan said. “We have directors for baking, marketing, outreach, and quality control, along with UT mentors who help guide us.”
Despite their busy schedules, the students remain committed to continuing their mission.
“The biggest challenge has been organization and time management because we are busy junior year students,” Kim said. “But those challenges have only strengthened our resolve to continue raising awareness for kids battling cancer.”
Looking ahead, Cookies for Cures plans to continue expanding beyond the holiday season.
“Our future plans are to continue with our current flavors and also experiment with new ones,” Kim said. “We believe this project supports a good cause that can create a meaningful impact.”
With festive cookies, dedicated students, and a powerful mission, Cookies for Cures is turning holiday spirit into real support for families in need, proving that small acts of kindness can make a big difference.
