A Manhattan teen uses his passion for baking to help others

WNYC News

New York City communities thrive on everyday people trying to make a positive impact on those around them. WNYC's Community Partnerships Desk is spotlighting some of those people. We're calling them community champions. Today, we meet Jonas Coats, a 17-year-old Manhattan resident who has been baking and donating muffins every Friday morning to the ESOL classes, or English for Speakers of Other Languages, provided at the Mercy Center, a community center located in the Bronx.

The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

I started baking when I was 5 or 6, really with my grandmother. That's maybe why I started to fall in love with baking as a way to express joy and love for those around you. I got involved with baking for the ESOL classes around a year ago. My family's been pretty involved with the Mercy Center for a while.

One day, my dad came home with an email from the head of the center, saying they had this need on Friday mornings for their ESOL classes because many of the participants were coming hungry, and that was creating this barrier to learning. So, I decided to start baking muffins for those classes, and since then, I've been baking weekly.

I usually bake four or five batches on Thursday nights. I get home from school; I finish up all of my work, then I go to get all of my ingredients. I usually try to do something different each week. Really pouring my soul into baking the same way I've seen those bakers around me do. The next morning, I take the muffins up to the Bronx. Usually, I'm not able to see them enjoy the muffins, unfortunately, because I'm there before the students in the classes actually get there. But I still feel like my work is meaningful because I hear this positive response from the people working there, and I know I'm having this positive impact. To be able to do this thing that I love and brings joy to people around me just makes me very happy.