When Kim Krattley, senior, decided that she wanted to raise money for her church’s youth program going on a mission trip to New York City, New York, she came up with the sweetest idea: a bake sale.

On Dec. 18, Krattley gathered about 60 teens and adults for a lock-in at Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Hopkins to bake treats to sell to members of the congregation. From about 8 pm to 3 am, the group made over 100 treats ranging from sugar cookies to toffee.

“Well, we did [a bake sale] last year and it was a hit,” Krattley said. “The lock-in is also a great way to reunite with our college alumni students and also everyone had a good time baking. It’s nice to have people come out for a good time and to have fun.”

Dan Pratt, senior, is a member of Gethsemane as well, and joined Krattley to help raise money for his friends attending the mission trip. 

“Kim texted me saying not enough people were coming [tonight] so told me to tell more people to come, so I invited a [couple of] friends,” Pratt said. “I’m not going on the New York trip, but I’m here to support my friends. It’s awesome being able to help out.” 

The lock-in proved itself successful considering Krattley, and others that joined her that night, were able to raise 410 dollars that weekend.

“The trip costs over 900 dollars for each person to go,” Krattley said. “But with this 400 dollars that was raised, that takes about 80 dollars off the total, which really goes a long way.” 

Krattley and other youth members of her church are teaming with Group Mission Trips (GMT), a Christian based organization that helps churches and organizations plan for mission trips, to attend the New York mission trip.

“We’ll go to New York for about 13 days and we’ll tour the city for about five days. For the rest of the trip, we’ll be going to different homes that have people living in poverty or are in need and we’ll build ramps, make pavements, and paint buildings,” Krattley said. 

Krattley believes that the trip is also a great way to meet new people. 

“Not only will we help people around in the area that we’ll be in, but [the trip] provides connections with people around the nation, which is really cool,” Krattley said. “Last year I had people in my group from Georgia, Indiana, and Ohio. I still talk to some of these people from last year that will be going on the trip this year as well.” 

Krattley said that while she’s excited to have raised money for her friends, she’s more happy to have been able to gather people from her community and have a good time.

“Knowing that people came here to help out [members] of my church really makes me feel good,” Krattley said. “While people might just be thinking about the baking, they aren’t realizing how much of a help they’re being. I couldn’t be more thankful.”