This past weekend, bakers and pastry chefs from around the world helped to support fair treatment and equality for African Americans. Bakers Against Racism, a grassroots organization formed by three Washington, D.C.-area chefs, held a virtual bake sale to benefit Black Lives Matter and charities supporting black lives, culminating on Saturday, June 20.

Thousands of bakers from at least sixteen countries participated in the event, which as of this reporting has raised over $1.5 million for racial justice organizations. This greatly surpassed the initial goal of the virtual bake sale when Bakers Against Racism conceived it, which was $96,000 according to co-founder Paola Velez.

The total amount raised is continually increasing as more bakers input their donations. The final tally will be revealed on Saturday, June 27, according to Washingtonian.

“As bakers, as pastry chefs, we’re the first ones to get cut from a program or defunded basically because we’re a luxury—not a necessity—in the restaurant,” says Velez. “But look at what we were able to accomplish, all of us around the world.”

Bakers Against Racism will continue the momentum from the bake sale by creating a support system for BIPOC (black and Indigenous people of color) bakers while urging businesses to do more in support of these individuals.

“A lot of businesses need to rectify how they treated black indigenous people of color, how they treated their staff, and their guests as well,” says Velez. “So the bake sale was step one. I hope that they continue to put in the effort to really make change within their own companies and within themselves.”