The founder of Cookies ‘N Cocoa started the event five years ago in memory of her best friend, who died in a car crash.
TEMPE, Ariz. — Cierra Chamont lost her best friend, Heather Began, over four years ago, right before the holidays. Both women loved Christmas and that first Christmas without Began was hard for Chamont.
“She loved Christmas, I love Christmas, and I didn’t want Christmas time to be a sad time of year,” Chamont said.
As someone who works in events, Chamont knew she wanted to honor Began’s memory and bring back the magic of Christmas they both loved.
In 2019, Chamont started Cookies ‘N Cocoa to honor Began’s legacy. It was a small event that first year, with the goal of collecting 260 books to donate to charity. Began was just shy of her 26th birthday when she passed away.
“We blew the goal out of the water and it was so crazy,” Chamont said. “It’s cool …