Besides taking care of her children, McKenna, Maddie, Emma and Rosie, Karen Kiefer is the co-founder of Spread the Bread and is the author of the book, The Misfit Sock.

When Kiefer was young, her mother would have Irish bread on the table every day when she came home from school. When Kiefer’s daughters asked if they could bake something, she knew exactly what to make.

The Kiefer children enjoyed making Irish bread, and soon they wanted to make Irish bread every single day. Kiefer knew that if they made bread every day, there would be too much of it for them to eat. From there, the idea for Spread the Bread was formed.

Kiefer decided that they would “spread” the extra bread by leaving it on the doorsteps of their neighbors.

“We never spread a naked bread,” Kiefer said.

Kiefer and her kids decorated their bread with flowers and letters of hope for the person who received the bread.

Soon, Spread the Bread extended past Kiefer’s neighborhood. Kiefer’s husband brought three hundred loaves of bread to the New England Veterans Shelter in Boston.

One day Kiefer’s daughter, McKenna, told Kiefer that she wished she saw the people recieving the bread.

“You don’t always have to see what people do, you have to do it and feel it in your heart.” Kiefer said.

Spread the Bread started to grow. People would drop of their own breads at Kiefer’s house and she would distribute them.

“I feel everyone is somehow attached to a bread,” Kiefer said. “The bread will call people back into the warmth’s of their kitchens.”

The Girl Scouts made a badge associated with Spread the Bread. Spread the Bread is now in 9 countries around the world. In 2006, Spread the Bread won the National Make a Difference Day Award. Spread the Bread received $10,000, all of which went towards making more bread.

“This bread project is so much bigger than our town.” said Kiefer.

Kiefer talked about how Spread the Bread has made a difference in her life. One Memorial day, Kiefer’s daughter, Emma, gave bread to a Veteran and thanked him for his service. Later on, the Veteran came up and thanked Kiefer. He said it was the first time he had been thanked for his service.

“It just shows you how one kind act is contagious,” said Kiefer.

The Misfit Sock

Kiefer wrote a book called the Misfit Socks. Kiefer got the idea for this book from the pile of unmatched socks that her family had. Kiefer wanted to do something with the socks so with the help of her daughters, she filled and decorated the socks. Then, she hung the socks on her neighbors door.

“You can always make something beautiful out of something that’s disregarded,” Kiefer said.

The book was published last year during Christmas season and the book was even featured in the Boston Globe on December 24, 2011. Besides the book, Kiefer is launching Misfit University, which teaches people about the lessons from the book.

Kiefer encouraged students to come up with their own ideas.

“There are ideas that live inside of each one of us,” said Kiefer. “Saying yes to good things can really open your life up and move you forward.”

“Everyone has a story about socks, everyone has a story about bread. Whats your story?” said Kiefer.

Miss an event from Winter Week 2012? WSPN’s got it covered.