Woman Sells Baked Goods to Save Her Late Dad’s Home from Foreclosure.

Growing up, Kaley Petersen’s dad was her biggest cheerleader.

After her parents separated when she was 3, Petersen tells PEOPLE, her dad stepped in as her primary caregiver. He built forts with her as a child, and when she discovered she was pregnant at 18, he was the first person she called—welcoming her into his home as she raised her son. As a grandfather, he doted on his three grandchildren with the same warmth.

“My dad was always there for me,” says Petersen, 23. “So when I lost him, it was like I lost more than a dad. I lost my best friend. I lost the only support I really have.”

Petersen’s father passed away unexpectedly on Dec. 17 from diabetic ketoacidosis, a complication of untreated diabetes that he couldn’t manage due to lack of health insurance. On top of her grief, Petersen discovered he had more than $200,000 in debt. She now faces a looming deadline: if she doesn’t pay around $30,000 in missed mortgage payments and lawyer fees by Sept. 3, she could lose her childhood home to foreclosure.

“That’s the home I took my first steps in. That’s the home I grew up in. I took my firstborn there. It’s where he took his last breath,” Petersen says. “It’s the last piece I feel like I have of my dad.”

The home was also where Petersen first discovered her love for baking.

Her dad often worked long hours, leaving at 5 a.m. and returning after 11 p.m. With no TV or internet in their remote house, Petersen says she had “nothing to do” except experiment in the kitchen.

“I would bake—I would experiment,” she remembers. “I realized, ‘Oh, it’s like a science, and I’m actually pretty good at it.’”

Her dad was always the first to taste her creations, offering honest feedback and helping her hone her skills.

“When he passed away, I needed to make money to save his house—and so I went to the end of the street and started a little bake sale.”

That’s how Woojis Bakery came to life.

The name is a tribute to her dad: “He was so weird, and he would give nicknames for everything,” Petersen laughs. “The one unique name he always called me was Wooji.”

Petersen converted a small horse trailer into a traveling bakery, decorating it with a painted surfboard reading “WOOJIS.” She parks in lots around town, selling pastries one customer at a time, inching closer to her $30,000 goal.

She rotates a variety of recipes—including apple cinnamon swirls, crumble loaves, banana bread, and mini chocolate chip cookies—but she’s “famous” for her lemon blueberry bread topped with a lemon glaze, which “literally sells out in minutes.”

On May 26, Petersen launched a TikTok page to showcase her bakery and reach more customers. Thousands flocked to her videos, leaving supportive comments and asking where she would set up next. Soon, she was selling out and even appeared on a local news station.

“Everyone’s been very encouraging—even people who say they can’t help financially,” Petersen says.

One supporter donated trailer lights from her garage, while another shipped Petersen a stand mixer from South Carolina after seeing her page.

“My dad was really my only supporter,” she says, noting that most of her family is no longer in her life. “I’ve been feeling very lonely. But I really appreciate the dads that comment and say, ‘I’m a dad and I’m proud of you.’ It feels good because that’s something my dad would say, and I’m not hearing it from him.”

Alongside selling baked goods, Petersen started a GoFundMe to raise the $30,000 she needs to save her dad’s house, which has already collected over $13,000.

Even after saving it, she’ll need to manage $2,000 in monthly mortgage payments, but she says it’s worth it. Eventually, Petersen hopes to fix the home and move in with her own family.

“My dad’s house was always the one I’d come home to,” she says. “I just want to make sure I keep this home forever and grow my whole family there for generations to come.”