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Launched: October 2020

Quirky laws that are actually on the books around Monterey County: In Carmel-by-the-Sea, you must have a permit to wear high heels, and no street addresses or stoplights are allowed. In Pacific Grove, there is a $1000 fine for touching a butterfly (actively enforced!). The Lone Cypress Tree in Pebble Beach is trademarked - you may not legally publish a picture of it for profit. Last, but not least, in Prunedale it is illegal to have two indoor bathtubs.

Volunteers at first orientation: 24 amazing bakers

Help Cake4Kids Monterey deliver more smiles!

 

About

Jennifer Ibarra, Cake4Kids Ambassador for Monterey County

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What is your favorite thing to bake?

My favorite thing to bake is anything with brown sugar or brown butter!

What is your life motto?

"Choose Kindness"

What is your favorite quote?

"The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives." -Russell M. Nelson

Why did you want to start a Cake4Kids in your area?

I wanted to start Cake4Kids in my area because it brings together my love of baking with my desire to help children who have been trafficked, abused, or feel lonely and forgotten. A dear cousin shared a story about being a foster and adoptive parent. She compared it to a tall ladder: at the top is fostering and adopting. Along the way there are 99 steps we can take to support the children who need it. Not all are called to climb to the top, but many are called to take a step. Sadly, the rungs on the ladder show little wear compared to the ground below, which is worn away by those who want to step up but instead scuffle around, unsure what to do. I had been scuffling, and Cake4Kids is the answer I was looking for. Just stepping up can make an impact on the life of a child. I hope my little step can give them hope that there is good in the world.

 

If you’re interested in baking, please visit the Volunteer page!

If you are a caseworker or work at an agency and are interested in partnering with Cake4Kids to receive free cakes for your youth, please visit Who We Help to request our services!

If you still have questions, please contact me at jen@cake4kids.org.

 
 

Upcoming Events

For all of Cake4Kids' upcoming events, see the Events page!

 

Photos from Past Events

 
 
 

Cake4Kids Monterey In the News

For all the latest about Cake4Kids, see the News page!

Featured
Cake4Kids delivers its 1,000 cake for underserved children in Monterey County

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.

Read More →
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Sweetest Surprise

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.

Read More →
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Cake4Kids Monterey in the Monterey County Weekly's Daily Newsletter

Monterey County Weekly - Daily Newsletter
By Celia Jiménez
Monday, February 22, 2021

Birthday cakes can create indelible memories.

Good afternoon.

Celia Jiménez here, remembering the look on my niece Vivian’s overjoyed face when she blew out the candles on her birthday cake at her 2nd birthday party. She loved it so much, the first song she sang was Happy Birthday (when her vocabulary wasn’t more than a few words). She also had the cutest ending: a ffffff (the sound of blowing out candles). Vivian’s parents could afford to buy her a birthday cake, but there are many other parents who can’t.

Cake4Kids Monterey is here to change that—making sure kids in the county have a cake to celebrate their birthday. Professional and home bakers volunteer to prepare personalized cakes, cupcakes and other treats for families who can’t afford them…

Read More →
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A team of volunteer bakers aims to ensure no kid goes without a birthday cake

Monterey County Weekly
By Celia Jiménez Feb 13, 2021
Saturday, February 13, 2021

One of the main stars at a child’s birthday party – besides the birthday kid, of course – is the cake. Seeing a child smile and the spark of joy in their eyes while they are thinking about a wish and blowing out the candles is a memory-making event.

Now a local nonprofit organization is working to make sure every kid in Monterey County has a cake on their special day, regardless of the family’s ability to pay.

Cake4Kids Monterey has been active in the county for less than six months, but the organization has been active across the country since 2010. They make custom cakes and treats for kids whose families can’t afford them. The children are from low-income families and may not have parents in their home. The family may be homeless or the child might be in foster care…

Read More →

Thank you to our local sponsors!

Ready to Help?

Donate today or sign up to volunteer with Cake4Kids Monterey!

 
 

Delivering smiles to children one birthday cake at a time®

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