KELOLAND.com

A young girl’s mission of giving smiles

BRANDON, S.D. (KELO) – We are in the season of giving and the season of sweet treats. Those two things are what one high schooler in Brandon knows best.

Every year you can find Jadyn Ramazani baking cookies and spreading cheer to area assisted living residents.

We first introduced you to Jadyn in 2019 when she was just 13 years old. At the time, she was handing out candy, socks and oranges to veterans at Helping Hands Assisted Living in Brandon.

“I love being able to give to people,” Jadyn said in 2019.

Cut to three years later and that spirit of giving is still a big part of who Jadyn is.

“It’s grown a lot the last couple of years. It’s amazing,” Jadyn said.

The now high school sophomore spends a lot of her time making spritz cookies, puppy chow and peanut butter kiss cookies to sell.

“Pretty much all the time. Especially around this time of year, it’s every day I’m baking around Thanksgiving and Christmas and then throughout the year I have little spurts of where I’m baking a lot too,” Jadyn said.

The money raised from the treats goes towards buying gifts for assisted living residents.

“I’ve always kind of felt that it’s a way to bring our community together for a main cause and to have something good throughout the world because I feel like so many people want to do something and they want to get out there and help people but they just don’t have an outlet. So I’ve been happy that I’ve been able to be that for people,” Jadyn said.

She’s been giving sweets and joy to her community since she was just six years old.

“We were making spritz cookies at home, I think, and she must’ve said ‘let’s go take some to the police officers.’ So we went to the police station, the fire station, who else, the pharmacy, eye doctors. And she just took little plates of cookies, this little tiny girl running in. And then all of a sudden, it was the next year, she was asking to do more and more,” Kerry Knudson, Jadyn’s mom, said.

Kerry Knduson loves watching her daughter’s passion for giving blossom every year.

“It brings so much good into the world I feel and it’s something we need right now, is a lot of positivity,” Knudson said.

This year, Jadyn will be giving out gifts at Edgewood Prairie Crossing Assisted Living in Sioux Falls.

“Some of the common things that I give are socks, candies, little sweets and stuff like that, just different little Christmas things. Last year I gave them cold tumblers, we give them blankets, it really depends on their main needs for that year,” Jadyn said.

Baking is a hobby that puts a smile on Jadyn’s face.

“I just really love it. It’s kind of like, it’s like an art form almost, you know. It’s just picking and choosing and figuring out what works best with it,” Jadyn said.

She’s translated that art form into the art of painting a smile on others.

“I just love giving back to people..” Jaydn said.

“…and being able to see like a smile on somebody’s face. That’s just really fun,” Jadyn said in 2019.

Jadyn will be handing out the gifts during the week of Christmas. If you’d like to buy some of her sweet treats or donate to her cause, you can contact her mom or message the Jadyn Kay’s Spritz Cookies Facebook page.