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WEST VALLEY VIEW NEWS | SEPTEMBER 8, 2021
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Woman honors best friend with Cookies N’ Cocoa BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI West Valley View Executive Editor
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Cierra Chamot of Buckeye, above, wants to continue the legacy of her friend, Heather Began of Avondale. (Photo by Pablo Robles)
ierra Chamot lost her best friend, Heather Began, when an impaired driver crashed into her car in Phoenix in October 2019. “She was bubbly,” Chamot said. “She always had a bubbly personality. She lit up any room she walked into. Her smile and laughter were contagious. She was my adventure buddy. We would go on random camping trips around Arizona. She loved her family, friends and God. Those were her three priorities, along with her students.” Since Began’s death, Chamot has been honoring her. Both of them loved Christmas. In October 2019, Chamot introduced
Cookies N’ Cocoa, which raises school supplies for Estrella Vista STEM Academy and Tempe’s Rover Elementary School. “I thought I would do an event in honor of her that benefited the school where she worked, Estrella Vista STEM Academy,” said Chamot, a 26-year-old Buckeye resident. At a small Christmas get-together, Chamot collected books for the Avondale school that’s in the Littleton Elementary School District. Last year, Chamot held a much larger public event that would benefit the two schools. She served free cookies and cocoa and collected school supplies in exchange. “It started as a small Christmas party at my house, honestly,” said Cha-
