Update: Following the story of Erika Rybinski's charitable work and the community's outreach, the tenacious baker has encountered another twist. Tampering with her Facebook account means she can no longer use the service for taking orders. Erika asks that you direct all orders through her email at pastryandthepiano@gmail.com. 

Previous story below:

Erika Rybinski, a teacher in Humboldt at Humboldt Collegiate Institute, has been busy these past few weeks with her side project for charity, Pastry and the Piano. 

Rybinski started Pastry and the Piano a few years ago, inspired by her grandmother, who taught her all about baking and showed her how to serve the community.

“I wanted to combine my gifts and talents in a way that I enjoy, which is baking,” says Rybinski. “The title is basically the two loves of mine, and my desire to pursue charitable work and help people that are in need.”

She says that as one person, she cannot raise millions of dollars to help everybody, but says that every little bit counts, donating to different organizations and charities.

“The people I reach out to help are people whose names are given to me by other people, or I hear about other things in the news that touch my heart. I think the bakery is an exercise in compassion, and it helps me to connect with more people, especially the community of Humboldt.”

She says moving to Humboldt in the middle of the pandemic jump-started her bakery. 

“I had all of this time to not visit with people because of restrictions, so I put my heart and soul into baking.” 

Erika RybinskiErika Rybinski, owner and operator of Pastry and the Piano. 

Her baking efforts to raise funds recently came to a halt as she ran into some problems with her oven and the community came together to return all the favors she has done for Humboldt. 

Her oven was not baking the goods as quickly or as efficiently as she had hoped for and was on the hunt for a new oven when she missed a call from A-line Furniture in Humboldt. 

“There was a voicemail from A-line Furniture and Appliances in Humboldt, and I had to listen twice, because I didn’t catch the message the first time, and then it said something like, ‘We have an anonymous item to deliver to your place’.”

Rybinski opened the box and was surprised to see a new oven had been delivered to her home just in time for her latest bake sale. 

“I’m currently doing a bake sale for a 14-year-old girl who was diagnosed with Leukemia, and I recognized the last name. I realized that her grandmother had worked with my father in social work in Melfort, so I reached out and asked if they felt comfortable with me doing a Christmas baking tray sale in honour of this 14-year-old girl.”

With her new oven up and running, she opened her books for orders and had planned to keep them open for a week or so but had to close the book within hours as she was flooded with orders in support. 

“I took 83 orders, and each tray has 30 pieces of baking, so if you do the math, that's quite a few pieces of baking.” 

She says there will be much more set up in the new year, and more information about Pastry and the Piano can be found on her Facebook Page. (Please note: Erika's current Facebook page has been disabled. To connect with her, email pastryandthepiano@gmail.com.