Sometimes the biggest impact can come from things that are so small and one teenager is making things just a little sweeter for those who need it the most.
Whether it's pies, cupcakes, cookies, or chocolate cake topped with fresh berries, these desserts look like they would be behind a glass case inside a high-end bakery.
However, they are not.
They are made by 17-year-old Ishaan Sharma, an ambassador for Cake4Kids.
This week’s “The Smile Project” Service Spotlight highlights two of my favorite things: service and baking! Meet Alison Bakewell, Executive Director of Cake4Kids a California-based organization that operates across 19 U.S. states.
Every day Cake4Kids is changing this reality, providing at-risk youth with positive, critical childhood experiences that build their self-esteem and help guide them toward a bright future—their very own cake in celebration of birthdays, graduations, adoptions, and academic awards. The simplest gesture of being seen and celebrated makes a world of difference.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Across the country -- and here in Chicago -- there is an army of bakers.
Their mission? To put smiles on the faces of kids going through rough times.
The bakers are part of a nationwide organization called Cake4Kids. The Chicago chapter recently delivered its 1,000th cake. CBS 2 met one of the bakers as she was making her latest treat.
Lisa Swanson is making a birthday cake for a child she will never meet. "This particular young lady wanted basketball, so I decided to make it look like a basketball."
Swanson is a volunteer baker for Cake4Kids. It's a national network of bakers who make treats for children in difficult circumstances like those in foster care. "That's a need that needs to get filled, and I'm happy to do a teeny tiny part," Swanson said.
SEASIDE, Calif. (KION) - Cake4Kids is spreading smiles to underserved kids and frosting to cakes in Monterey County. On Tuesday, the non-profit delivered its 1,000 cakes.
"Kids need to know that they're loved and valued, and I think that's what these cakes are doing," says Jen Ibarra, the volunteer ambassador for Cake4Kids.
Cake4Kids says it's the little things that mean the world to kids who don't grow up with the simple luxuries in life.
The Cake4Kids interview begins at 27:28
In this episode, Dan Winter and Amy Vodarek discuss how Cake4Kids makes birthdays memorable for kids across the U.S.
Allison Bakewell is the executive director for Cake4Kids, a multistate volunteer-powered organization that delivers free custom birthday cakes to at-risk children and youth around the country.
Cake4Kids' unique business model ensures birthday cakes are baked and delivered to kids in foster care, kinship care, group homes, survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking, and those living in low-income housing with or without parents, or experiencing homelessness.
Many organizations deliver flowers, fruit, packages and personal messages, but one in Northern Virginia delivers love – along with cakes.
Libby Gruender founded Cake4Kids in California 13 years ago to provide homemade cakes to local children on their birthdays. Volunteers expanded the nonprofit across the state, baking and delivering cakes to children who otherwise might not have one.
Cake4Kids partners with schools, agencies and individuals to serve children who are in foster care, low-income homes or experiencing homelessness or other difficulties.
Fair Oaks resident Mary Campbell read about the organization while looking for more to do close to home. “For a lot of these children, it may be the first cake they ever received,” she said.
For Campbell’s kids, volunteering was essential when her husband was an active Navy captain and they were moving frequently. “It's a great way to help them have roots, which is hard when you're a military child.”
She asked Cake4Kids leadership if she could start a chapter in Virginia. After more than a year of logistics and paperwork, Campbell founded Cake4Kids Northern Virginia in April 2019, the first chapter outside of California.
Thousands of children around the DMV experience their birthdays without a birthday cake. In fact, some say they have never received one. That's why one Fairfax county nonprofit called Cake4Kids is working to change that.
It's something you might not think of, but unfortunately it happens all the time.
"It never occurred to me that children go without a birthday cake and that broke my heart," said Mary Campbell, owner of nonprofit Cake4Kids. "It's homeless children, it's children in domestic violence shelters, it's foster children, it's children in immigration services, and it's children with free and reduced lunch. We do a lot of Title I schools."
That's why Campbell is making a difference in her Fairfax County kitchen through her nonprofit.
"I thought, 'How would I feel if it was my child's birthday and I wasn't able to provide something?' So I wanted to be able to bring something here," Campbell said.
A local nonprofit organization is celebrating a milestone.
Cake4Kids of Northern Utah recently delivered its 1,000th cake to a child in need.
Becky Carroll began the northern Utah chapter in 2021 as a way to honor the memory of her grandparents who dedicated their lives to helping foster children. They passed away during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I just wanted a way to honor their service,” Carroll said.
Cake4Kids delivers homemade birthday cakes to children who likely would not receive a cake on their special day without these donations.
The creations are intricate and no request from a child is impossible.
Sweetest Surprise
65 Degree Magazine, by Cailtin Fillmore
Everyone has a birthday—a special day dedicated to the moment that they entered this world. Birthdays carry symbolic significance and are celebrated with enthusiasm in most global cultures. But many children living in Monterey County do not experience the warmth, love, and individualized celebrations that most of us enjoy on our birthdays.
Cake4Kids began in 2010 with a sweet and simple mission: making sure that all children can celebrate their birthdays with cake. Since then, the nonprofit has delivered 40,000 cakes to children in refugee camps, group homes, foster care, and other settings associated with the 750 Cake4Kids partner agencies across the country. In Monterey County, children have blown out candles on 700 Cake4Kids creations since Jen Ibarra took the leap to start a local chapter of the nonprofit in 2020.
By Jennifer Franco
July 28, 2022 9:15 PM
Cake4Kids is in need of volunteers and donations as it prepares for the busier fall months.
The non-profit organization provides cakes for underprivileged children who may not normally receive a cake for special occasions.
“We not only bake cakes for the birthdays and graduations, but certainly as holidays come up if the agencies have a need they’re going to throw some parties or a fundraiser, we’ll also bake for those occasions as well,” said Ray Biller, Ambassador for the Coachella Valley Cake4Kids chapter.
Cake4Kids works with several partner agencies that deliver homemade cakes directly to children, after they are baked entirely for free by volunteers.
These agencies include Olive Crest, CFLC Sheltering Palms Foster Family Agency, Barbara Sinatra Children's Center, The Boys and Girls Club in Cathedral City, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Desert, among others.
“In earlier years in my career I worked with at-risk youth, with children in disadvantaged homes and communities, so I felt I’ve been missing that and this was a perfect opportunity for me to connect with them and give back,”said Elizabeth Campos, a volunteer baker with Cake4Kids.
Elizabeth Campos, Cake4Kids volunteer baker
Cake baked by Elizabeth Campos
The non-profit launched locally in March 2022 and has been well-received since then, according to Ray Biller, Ambassador for the Coachella Valley Cake4Kids chapter.
“When I first started seeing if there was really a need out here in the valley I wasn’t quite sure what I’d find, but I was a little overwhelmed by what we discovered,” said Biller.
“I discovered that 60% of the kids in the school districts out here in the valley live underneath the poverty line,” he added.
Cake4Kids is holding its first fundraiser in the Coachella Valley on Wednesday, August 17 at One Eleven Bar in Cathedral City. Anyone interested in the event is invited to attend.
Link to article
Thalia Hayden from NBC Palm Springs recently interviewed Cake4Kids’ Coachella Valley Ambassador, Ray Biller, about Cake4Kids! Check out the interview below!
If the video below doesn’t work, you can view it here.
By Mike De Felice For the Review
June 25, 2022 1:30 am
Underprivileged children associated with family shelters, the foster system, domestic violence or human trafficking agencies, or food banks are among those who receive birthday cakes from Cake4Kids. (Courtesy photo)
Swirling pink, purple and blue frosting on the unicorn cake was a huge hit when an 8-year-old Bainbridge Island girl opened her eyes and saw the colorful creation at her birthday celebration.
The mother of the second-grader beamed and said, “She was super excited to see all the colors, candles and decorations. It was a blessing.”
Designs on the unicorn cake were so impressive that they led to a tiff between family members. “The family got into an argument over what was the best way to cut the cake to preserve the decorations, but we all knew we wanted to eat it!” the mom laughed.
Leading up to her daughter’s birthday party, the single mom of two girls, who found herself stressed and strapped for cash, turned to Cake4Kids for help. The nonprofit has volunteer bakers who make special treats for children who otherwise may go without a birthday cake on their special day.
“At Cake4Kids, we say that no child should go without a birthday cake,” said Dawn Snider, Kitsap County lead for the nonprofit. “We all grew up getting birthday cakes every year, and we remember. We don’t realize there are children in our neighborhood and our community that may have never had a birthday cake. Our mission is to bring joy to these children.”
The nonprofit works with agencies serving youth to locate kids who could use a birthday surprise. Underprivileged children associated with family shelters, the foster system, domestic violence or human trafficking agencies, or food banks are among those benefited by Cake4Kids, Snider noted.
Once a service agency selects a young candidate, the group puts out the referral to its volunteer bakers who pull out their mixing pans and heat up their ovens. Goodies whipped up by chefs include birthday cakes, cupcakes, cookies and brownies. “It’s whatever the child requests,” said Snider, of BI.
Bakers often create theme cakes – examples include dinosaurs, skateboarding and popular movies like Disney’s “Frozen.”
A baker who accepts a job is responsible for buying all the ingredients and getting the finished product to the referring agency. “For privacy concerns, we never see or meet the child,” Snider pointed out. “While they don’t meet the client, oftentimes the volunteer baker gets a thank-you card and sometimes gets a picture of the smiling child with the cake.”
Volunteer bakers
Cake4Kids began in California in 2010 and has expanded to 40 chapters across 11 states. The nonprofit expanded to Kitsap County last fall. Agencies wishing to make referrals can contact Snider at dawn@cake4kids.org. Volunteer bakers can go to cake4kids.org.
Cakes4Kids has 14 bakers in Kitsap County. The group primarily is active in North Kitsap, Snider said, but the group is looking to expand to the central and south county and is looking for volunteers in those areas. “Our bakers are people who love to bake, have the time and love helping children,” Snider said.
Local bakers range from a scientist and a counselor to people in marketing and the tech field. Retirees also have signed up. They all learn in the process.
“[Our bakers] have some competency in the basic ability to decorate cakes but you don’t have to be a professional. Like myself, I can do basic decorating, but I thought it would be fun to learn how to be a better decorator,” Snider said.
Bakers sign up to make as many desserts as they want. “Some bakers are very active and bake one or two times a month. Others do one or two a year,” she said.
Kim Fox of Bainbridge Island has been a Cake4Kids volunteer baker for several months.
“My grandmother made me decorated cakes growing up,” Fox said. “I have fond memories of that. Now, I’m addicted to watching YouTube videos to learn about cake decorating.”
Fox, a retired software executive, finds her volunteer kitchen work satisfying. “I feel good about delivering a cake. It’s not like writing a check — this is much more personal,” said Fox, who recently finished making a Sonic the Hedgehog cake for a lucky child.
Dawn Snider of Cake4Kids: “Our bakers are people who love to bake, have the time, and love helping children.” (Courtesy photo)
Dawn Snider of Cake4Kids: “Our bakers are people who love to bake, have the time, and love helping children.” (Courtesy photo)
Link to article
By: Kevin S. Krug
Posted at 10:15 PM, Jun 19, 2022
and last updated 6:49 AM, Jun 20, 2022
It takes a lot of practice to become an expert cake decorator. Luckily for the bakers who are part of the Northern Colorado chapter of Cake4Kids, they have bakers like Tina Sampson to help give them a hand.
ARVADA, Colo. – It takes a lot of practice to become an expert cake decorator. Luckily for the bakers who are part of the Northern Colorado chapter of Cake4Kids, they have bakers like Tina Sampson to help give them a hand.
Over the last year and a half, the 300-plus bakers who are part of the chapter have made more than 1,000 cakes for kids who are in foster care, shelters and other programs where they might not always get a special cake for graduations, birthdays and other milestones.
Of those 1,000 cakes, Sampson has baked and decorated more than 30 herself.
“I think it doesn't hurt, right, to put a little extra love in what you're doing so that the kids can feel that too,” she said with a smile. “One of the cakes that I baked last year that I'll always remember was for a 5-year-old girl who was in a domestic abuse shelter. And I did get emotional when I was making her cake.”
There are more than 20 Cake4Kids chapters across the nation, but only one in Colorado right now. Executive Director Alison Bakewell said the volunteers put their own time, money, and love into what they baked because they know if the kids’ birthdays aren’t getting celebrated, there are probably other important milestones in their lives that aren’t getting celebrated either.
“What we're really trying to do is making sure that they know someone who doesn't even know them cares — that they're worth the time and effort a volunteer takes and puts into the cakes or cupcakes that they back,” she said.
To learn how you can volunteer or donate to Cake4Kids, click here.
The kids who receive the cakes can request any flavor and any decoration. Sampson said cakes with swirled flavors and red velvet cakes are some of the most popular cakes being requested right now. Whatever the flavor, whatever the theme, Sampson puts a little something extra in it from her heart.
“I feel like the giving for me is also putting the love and the energy into the product so that the child receiving it might feel that energy and that love coming from the baker," she said.
Link to article
Winston Gieseke
Palm Springs Desert Sun
Does the thought of a child without a birthday cake make you sad? Do you enjoy baking and decorating cakes? Are you looking for an easy way to make a child feel special and loved on his or her birthday?
Consider becoming a volunteer baker for Cake4Kids.
Cake4Kids is an 11-year-old nonprofit currently active in 13 states plus the District of Columbia that provides free birthday cakes, cupcakes, cookies, brownies and other baked goods to underserved youth and foster children, ages 1-24.
As the organization's website says: "On the surface, a birthday cake may seem like a trivial gesture in supporting the at-risk children in our local communities, but every cake is a way to let the children know they are valued. For children who are victims of human trafficking, domestic abuse or neglect, receiving a personal birthday sweet helps to bolster their confidence and self-esteem and encourages them to keep on."
Southern California native Ray Biller recently started a Coachella Valley chapter of Cake4Kids and is looking for volunteers. The organization, which began this month, has already partnered with agencies such as the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center, Olive Crest, the East Valley LGBT Center and the Boys & Girls Club.
"This organization started up in the Bay area," Biller says. "In September 2010, a woman named Libby Gruender came up with the idea that every kid should have a cake for a special event. Sadly, she died three years after starting the program but her legacy carries on."
There are currently more than 800 Cake4Kids volunteers in the Bay Area.
While living in San Diego, Biller learned about the organization from his sister. "I love to cook and bake, and she said I would be perfect for this. Every time I dropped off one of my cakes, it felt good."
Volunteering is easy. All you need to do is sign up to make a specific dessert based on a request or theme, then bake and decorate on your schedule in the comfort of your own kitchen. When the sweets are complete, you deliver them to the local social services agency that requested them, Monday-Friday during business hours.
Volunteers do not have contact with the children they bake for.
There is no time commitment. Volunteers can bake one cake per year or 10.
Biller is passionate about the organization and its mission. "I grew up with birthday cakes every year on my birthday," he says, "and I always appreciated them, so I thought 'I need to be doing this for these kids as well.'"
Interesting in volunteering your baking skills? Cake4Kids will be hosting a local in-person volunteer orientation, which will last an hour to 90 minutes, on July 23. Learn more at cake4kids.org/volunteer
Questions? Email volcor@cake4kids.org.
Link to article
Produced By Kendall Balchan & Mark Talkington
Starting in June, the Coachella Valley will be home to a chapter of Cake4Kids, an organization that bakes and delivers free birthday cakes to underserved kids who might not otherwise get one.
Bringing back birthdays: When you’re a kid, the whole kid universe revolves around the winter holidays, Halloween, and your birthday.
But for young people in underserved communities, those hallmarks of childhood may be missed.
The cause: Cake4Kids serves children from all walks of life, focusing on kids in foster care, in group homes, survivors of domestic violence or human trafficking, living in low-income housing with or without a parent, or even unhoused kids.
Local impact: The soon-to-launch Coachella Valley chapter has so far partnered with the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center, Olivecrest Foster programs, The LGBT Center in East Valley, and the Boys and Girls Club.
What’s next: Now that the groundwork is laid, organizers are asking for volunteers who can help bake cakes, cupcakes, cookies, or brownies for these kids.
Volunteers can choose how often and which cakes they want to bake.
For more information: Call Ray Biller, the Coachella Valley Ambassador for Cake4Kids at 760-671-0107 or reach out online here.
Read more about how the organization got started in 2010 in the Bay Area.
Mix96 in Sacramento recently featured Cake4Kids in their Sheryl’s Good Deeds program. Sheryl interviewed Leigh Ann Higa, our Cake4Kids Sacramento Ambassador. Watch the video below!
We’ve teamed up with JustServe.org to motivate service in the Sacramento community! This week, we learn more about Cake4Kids, an amazing and compassionate group of volunteers who donate all the ingredients and supplies needed to bake birthday cakes for underserved kids who might not otherwise get one.
On this Big Day of Giving, Jordan Segundo is with a local baker where they're helping kids on their birthday by baking birthday cakes! See how Cake4Kids are baking cakes for the kids in need.
P.O. Box 2863, Sunnyvale, CA 94087 | (408) 752-2538 | info@cake4kids.org | Tax ID 45-3148916
