Aug 6, 2009 12:04 pm US/Pacific
Successful Baker Sends Smart Cookies To College
Jefferson Award Winner: Karen Trilevsky
NEWARK (CBS 5) ―
If you could only smell this success story, you'd understand why entrepreneur Karen Trilevsky has gone from baking in the off-hours in a borrowed kitchen to building her FullBloom Baking Company in Newark into the largest natural and organic baking company in the Bay Area.
"I dropped out of high school, needed a job, started working in restaurants," Karen remembers. "That began my career in the food business."
In her soft-spoken manner, Karen says the proliferation of coffee shops in the 1980's helped propel her to success.
"I had this very beat-up old red Mitsubishi truck and I drove to the city every morning at 4a.m. and delivered my scones and muffins and croissants, one person at a time, one account at a time. We've grown a lot."
Today FullBloom supplies baked goods to stores from Starbucks to Whole Foods, with over 380 employees crafting rolls, muffins, cookies, and croissants. Many of those employees are new immigrants, who like Karen, had to sacrifice the chance at higher education. So once the company was on solid footing, she put her entrepreneurial spirit into action once more, founding the Smart Cookies Program.
She explains, "I wanted a way to give back to the community and the people who helped me create this."
Using some of her company profits, Karen began by helping the children of her employees with college scholarships. Now Smart Cookies helps children from the greater South Bay Community. That first year, Smart Cookies helped six kids get a college education. Today, over 57 have participated in the program.
"It's meant a lot, it's made my school and my academics a lot smoother," says student Carlos Hernandez.
Carlos is the first in his family to go to college. He has been with Smart Cookies for three years and is just starting his masters program in astro physics.
He says, "Smart Cookies is very different because besides the money, they want to know how you are doing -- there's that connection."
Karen adds, "Sometimes they need encouragement, sometimes they need a little guidance, sometimes you need a little kick. That's what we are here to do is help them through those moments that otherwise might derail them entirely."
So Karen is keeping them on track: seven years later, still using company profits to help pay for tuition, books, even career guidance.
"To me, that's the most rewarding thing, to have that success and be able to share it. That feels good!" Karen says.
So, for cooking up another recipe for success benefitting Bay Area youth, this week's Jefferson Awards in the Bay Area goes to Karen Trilevsky.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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