Teenager's community cookbook raises thousands for CancerCare Manitoba

A Winnipeg high school student is already thinking about her next fundraising project after raising more than $5,000 for CancerCare Manitoba with her own community cookbook. 

The idea began for Hillary Wortley in Sept. 2022, when the 16-year-old enrolled in the Propel program at Nelson McIntyre Collegiate. The one-semester project-based program encourages students from across the Louis Riel School Division to take their passion and create a real-world project around it.

"My passion was helping out the community, especially those with cancer, and designing, and baking," Wortley said.

She decided to create a cookbook, spending the next few months gathering recipes, designing the pages, and having physical copies printed.

She said it was an excellent learning process. "Actually collaborating with a few people, getting sponsors for printing costs, and just putting it all together, one piece at a time," said Wortley.

The Glenlawn Collegiate student collected 75 family-favourite recipes from the community. The cookbook has recipes for meals, side dishes, snacks, and treats for every occasion. Each recipe title is hand-written by its contributor in the book.

Wortley's favourite recipe came from her uncle. "He made it really fun. He calls it 'Keep it Simple Burgers,' when really he wrote down two pages worth of information with only three ingredients," she said.

She also included an entry from her great-grandmother's recipe box from 1921. "Just looking through all those different recipes of hers from different times, it's really neat."

The cookbook was finished by December 2022. Wortley printed 300 to start, and began selling them to family and friends.

'It took me about four months to sell all 300, but there was a month – I think it was February – where I sold like 200 of those books," said Wortley. "It blew up and everybody really wanted one. It was a very special time."

Wortley raised a total of $5,018 through cookbook sales, which she gave to the non-profit organization at a special ceremony June 29 in her backyard. 

"CancerCare Manitoba came, and friends, family, neighbours, everyone came. It was very special," she said.

The money will go towards CancerCare programs such as cancer navigation and nutrition services, support and counselling services, personal wig fittings, and loans from the Guardian Angel care room.

It's not the first time Wortley has raised money for CancerCare. When she was in grade 6, Wortley held a spirit week at school that earned close to $1400 for cancer research.

She said giving to CancerCare has become a big part of her life.

"Cancer just keeps on creeping into my story and I hate it, and everyone else hates it too," said Wortley. "I want to try and make a difference."