Woman started bake sale to earn $30K and save late dad’s house—then community's unbelievable response stunned her

A few places hold memories and great significance in a person's life. For one 23-year-old woman, her late dad's house meant a lot to her, too. She had a lot of memories attached to the place and it was the last thing of her dad's that she had after his sudden passing. However, the house faced a potential foreclosure if the daughter, Kaley Petersen, didn't pay the missed mortgage payments and lawyer fees, coming up to $30,000. So the woman decided to hold a bake sale until she reached the goal, per PEOPLE.

Petersen shared that her mom and dad separated when she was only three years old. Her dad raised her almost on his own from then on. When she learned that she was pregnant at 18, she moved into her dad's house and he supported her and her child. "My dad was always there for me. So when I lost him, it was like I lost more than a dad. I lost my best friend. I lost the only support I really have." She learned about the house after her dad's sudden death from diabetic ketoacidosis in December 2024. It happened due to untreated diabetes, as her dad couldn't afford health insurance. The woman also learned that her dad was $200,000 in debt, apart from the house's foreclosure.

"That’s the home I took my first steps in. That’s the home I grew up in. I took my firstborn there. It’s where he took his last breath. It’s the last piece I feel like I have of my dad," the woman told the outlet. Petersen shared that she developed a love for baking at her dad's house, too. Her dad worked long hours and the house had no internet or TV. So the woman had no other way to entertain herself as a child apart from spending her time in the kitchen, learning how to bake. "I would bake — I would experiment. I realized, 'Oh, it’s like a science and I’m actually pretty good at it.'" Her dad would taste everything she baked and give her feedback or praise accordingly.

"When he passed away, I needed to make money to save his house — and so I went to the end of the street and started a little bake sale." Petersen started selling baked goods under the name "Woojis Bakery." It was named after one of the nicknames her dad gave her. "He was so weird and he would give nicknames for everything. The one unique name he always called me was Wooji." The woman found a small horse trailer and started selling baked products wherever she could find a parking space. She is most famous for her lemon blueberry bread topped with lemon glaze. She set up a TikTok account, @woojis.bakery and started updating people about her story on May 26. She received a lot of support from the community, per the outlet.

"I have no family to turn to for help. Everything has fallen on me. But I’m determined to do right by him," the woman wrote on the GoFundMe page she started along with the bakery to help save the house. Also, to help with its $200,000 mortgage payments in the following months. She managed to raise $23,440 out of her $50,000 goal. Petersen told the outlet that if she can save the house, she would like to renovate it and move in with her family one day. "My dad’s house was always the one I’d come home to. I just want to make sure I keep this home forever and grow my whole family there for generations to come."

You can follow Kaley Petersen (@woojis.bakery) on TikTok for more updates.

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