Cookie Kids are bitty bakers on a big mission

Pint-sized philanthropists from Carroll Gardens are baking up a storm to help make our world a sweeter place — one yummy treat at a time.

Cookie Kids, an enterprising batch of fourth-graders from PS 58, has raised dough for autism, cancer, endangered elephants, exploited kids, and Hurricane Sandy relief through bake sales in parks, in front of subways, and at street corners, satisfying our craving for goodies and doing good with their homebaked rainbow cupcakes, blondies, honey-ginger biscuits, cocoa-walnut and vegan cookies, and whoopie pies — all hawked with irresistible smiles and enthusiastic voices that sound like a peal of jingle bells.

Now, the kids are bounding into spring with yet another toothsome endeavor on April 7 at Smith and President streets, this time selling their lip-smackin’ sweets for charities like St. Jude’s Hospital and the Wildlife Conservation Society.

The fund-raisers, held mostly every other weekend through June, started as an impromptu afterschool club for girls and boys who decided to channel their experiences and activities into cooking up positive change for others.

“I’m really happy that ordinary fourth graders like us can make a difference,” says 9-year-old founding member Georgia Fumusa, whose fellow “cookies” include Ella Tierney, Linnea Stenborg, Giovanni Galvano, Lucy Isaacs, Isabella Perillo, Blossom Bettles, Lucie Camzoniero, Leonard Bonn, and Liam Walsh.

A cool morsel? They get to make new friends — even wagnificent four-legged ones!

“We do these bake sales because we meet tons of interesting people and we love the feeling of giving back,” adds Georgia. “We also sell gourmet dog treats, so we get to meet really cute dogs.”

Their efforts have paid off by the tasty trayful.

One recent sunny Saturday, Cookie Kids raised a whopping $1,300 to support peers at nearby PS 15, in hard-hit Red Hook. Appreciative Jill Eisenhard, executive director of the Red Hook Initiative, says the cash came in handy at a tough time.

“We were able to put the money into a fund to provide financial support for individuals who were impacted by the storm,” she says. “It was inspiring for us to see so much support.”

The bitty bakers’ recipe for success is mere child’s play.

The kids gather in their schoolyard at recess to plan their confections and brainstorm charities — the latter determined by what’s currently going on in their busy, active lives.

Georgia became interested in healthcare after seeing her mom — stage actress Ilana Levine — in an off-Broadway play that ended with a curtain call for Broadway Cares, which raises money for HIV research. Giovanni decided to help rescue elephants in Africa after participating in a sponsored run for the Wildlife Conservation. And Liam became engrossed in a group called Free the Children after watching a segment on “60 Minutes” about child exploitation and sustainable development in countries like Ecuador, Ghana, and Haiti.

Kids in the group — whose motto is “making a difference one cookie at a time!” — have also raised money for their own Parent-Teacher Association, proving that charity begins at home. They have helped to fund school outings to the Metropolitan Opera, where they exercised their vocal chords in a collaborative music program, and to the Guggenheim Art Project, which displayed their masterpieces at the world-famous museum after the course.

Fans can now keep track of Cookie Kids, which has a blog — www.58bakes.blogspot.com — where members post photos, write ambrosial sound bites about past and future events, and inspire with quotes such as, “There is no failure except in no longer trying.”

There’s little doubt the proof of Cookie Kids is in its pudding.

“One time a complete stranger said on Facebook that his friends should head over to our bake sale for the best brownie he had ever tasted,” says Georgia.

Now, you can, too!

Cookie Kids bake sale [Smith and President streets in Carroll Gardens; www.58bakes.blogspot.com.] April 7 from noon to 3 pm.

Reach reporter Shavana Abruzzo at [email protected] or by calling (718) 260-2529. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/BritShavana