Elise Redmond

As elementary-school friends in Charlotte, Elise Redmond and Kristi Crates enjoyed the annual cookie-exchange parties their families held during the end-of-year holidays. As adults, the life-long friends kept up the tradition.

And in 2007, when Crates was dying of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and Redmond promised to continue hosting the parties, Crates suggested “we do something for other people and make a charity out of it,” Redmond says.

The result is Cookies 4 a Cause, a charity Redmond founded in 2007 that encourages people throughout the U.S. to host cookie parties to raise money for charity. She also created The Divas in the Kitchen, a for-profit company that sells items like bottle-cap necklaces and apron sets and donates the proceeds to Cookies 4 a Cause.

“When Kristi died, and I was in the room, I looked at her mother and I said, ‘For the rest of my life, I will spread Kristi’s message of helping other people,’” Redmond says. “Kristi spent her whole life helping other people.”

Doing charity work full-time is a big change for Redmond, who practiced law for 16 years after graduating from the University of Georgia and the law school at Mercer University. Now, with two small children, Redmond is up every morning at 4 a.m., sending and responding to email messages about Cookies 4 a Cause and The Divas in the Kitchen until 9 a.m.

"This is a lifetime journey," she says. "I am going to spend the rest of my life continuing what Kristi did, but in a different way."

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