05/17/2026
For those of you who may not know me, I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and share why this cause is so important to me.
I am a registered nurse who has been unable to work for the past year and a half after suffering a substantial injury when a patient fell on me. This journey has been incredibly difficult — both physically and mentally. Losing the ability to do what I loved most, caring for and helping others, left a huge void in my life and forced me to find new ways to continue serving my community.
One of those ways became nourishing people through home-cooked meals and baked goods. My growing love of baking, combined with my physical limitations, inspired my husband and I to start Sweets by Nurse Steph. To help make that possible, my husband even built me a custom kitchen designed specifically around my limitations so I could continue doing what brings me joy.
Before my injury, I also crafted part-time for our other small business, and over the years we have proudly donated dozens of mugs and tumblers to local fire departments, police departments, and EMS teams. Supporting our first responders has always been something close to our hearts.
With the ongoing fires and the incredible efforts of the fire and rescue teams working tirelessly to keep our communities safe, I knew I wanted to help in the best way I can — by providing meals, baked goods, and small gifts of appreciation to these crews while they are out on the front lines.
To do this on the scale we hope to, we are asking for your help. Every donation allows us to provide more meals, baked goods, mugs, and tumblers to the teams working around the clock. Our goal is to reach as many departments and crews as possible across Lake, St. Louis, and Crow Wing Counties. We are working closely with multiple local contacts who are helping direct donations to the teams with the greatest need.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read our story and for considering supporting this effort to give back to these local heroes who sacrifice so much for all of us.
If you would like to contribute, donations can be made directly through my website, where you can sponsor specific items such as meals, baked goods, tumblers, or mugs: https://www.craftsbynursesteph.shop/shop/fire-and-rescue-meals-and-gifts/LHOJ4VRFL5GBKY4U7DWWCD2Q?page=1&limit=30&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=asc&location_id=L2S6598S0REVF
