Former Foster Youth Bakes 700 Cakes for Underserved Youth in Fresno Community

Fresno, California (June 4, 2024)  Longtime Fresno resident, Roberta Parks, spent her teen years in foster care and knows first-hand the emotional toll that comes when childhood trauma leads to living with a family you’ve never met before. A family who not only isn’t related but doesn’t know what you’ve endured or how to help you heal. Today, Roberta channels that experience into every cake she creates with Cake4Kids, a national nonprofit providing free birthday cakes for underserved youth. Roberta is set to bake and deliver her 700th birthday cake in the Fresno community.

“As a child in foster care, my heart was hardened, I didn’t want people to know how hurt I was inside,” Roberta explained, “when I deliver a cake I want the child’s heart to melt enough to feel worthy of a moment created just for them.” It’s in this lived experience where Roberta found her inspiration. She shares her love and talent of baking and decorating with today’s underserved youth, something she has realized helps her heal. She began volunteering with Cake4Kids in 2018 and has been baking around 115 cakes per year ever since. Roberta will deliver a red velvet cake for a 14 year old, her 700th custom cake and delivery with Cake4Kids.

Remembering her teen years in foster care as a time when her desires never came to fruition, when she bakes for youth today she has a deep understanding of how important it is to personalize the decorations and flavors exactly as requested. “When I was 16, my foster Mom got me a cake. It had my name on it in lavender, and purple flowers because purple was my favorite color. It’s the only cake I remember receiving as a child.” The cake made Roberta feel like she was worthy in that one moment in time. As she bakes and decorates each cake it is her mission to pass along a lasting, positive, memory for each youth to carry with them through life, a memory of someone caring about them and feeling like their life is meaningful.

Since she first heard about Cake4Kids 6 years ago, Roberta instantly connected with its mission to make every youth feel seen and valued, lifted up and supported. “I like to go above and beyond with the cakes I bake and decorate, not for the compliments that I receive, but to let the children know just how valuable and wonderful they are. I remember the first cake I baked, it was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle theme, I remember the name of the child and the date I delivered it.”