TheatreWorksSV Simple Gifts Community Spotlight: Cake4Kids
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley
Friday, December 18, 2020
LEARN MORE → theatreworks.org/simplegifts 🕯 Throughout the run of SIMPLE GIFTS, join us as we highlight organizations in our community that provide simple gifts all year long with their incredible work. In this episode, TheatreWorks' Director of Community Partnerships Jeffrey Lo speaks to Cake 4 Kids Executive Director Julie Eades!
If the video above doesn’t work, you can watch the segment here.
The Power of Cake
The Stanford Daily
By Kiana George on August 27, 2020
Let’s talk about cake. Cake is the product of layering cooked batter, moist frosting and varying toppings. It comes in every flavor imaginable — something as simple as dark chocolate fudge to something as strange as sweet olive oil. But cake is much more than just a dessert — it evokes a level of joy no other food can…
The Stanford Daily
By Kiana George
August 27, 2020
Let’s talk about cake. Cake is the product of layering cooked batter, moist frosting and varying toppings. It comes in every flavor imaginable — something as simple as dark chocolate fudge to something as strange as sweet olive oil. But cake is much more than just a dessert — it evokes a level of joy no other food can.
Think about it. On every happy occasion, there is always cake. On your birthday, there’s cake. At your wedding, there’s cake. On holidays, there’s cake. And on your graduation — you guessed it — there’s cake.
Cake is a lot more powerful than many of us know. So this summer, I decided to take advantage of that.
Mid-quarantine, I stumbled across the opportunity to be a part of Cake4kids. It was everything I could dream about: it combined both my love for baking and helping others in one package.
Cake4Kids is a program that serves at-risk youth, ages 1-24, including kids in group homes, foster care, homeless shelters, domestic violence or human trafficking shelters, low-income housing, substance abuse programs or refugees.
Currently, there are 400,000 kids in foster care. One child out of every 30 is homeless. 15.5 million children live in a home where domestic violence has occurred at least once in the past year. Human trafficking is the second largest international crime industry, worth $32 billion annually.
Cake4Kids bakes cakes, cupcakes, brownies and other treats to raise the esteem of kids who face these challenges daily.
Now, you might be thinking: how is a cake going to help?
Well, a cake isn’t necessarily going to solve these problems, but it can give these kids a glimpse of hope in a world that they’ve only known to be cruel.
When I attended the Cake4Kids meeting, the coordinators went over the program instructions and rules. One of the coordinators described a story of giving a little girl a cake and the girl immediately running up to her foster mom crying. The coordinator was shocked and went up to the little girl, asking if there was something wrong with cake. The coordinator offered to change the color of the cake or even to redo it. The little girl then explained that she was crying happy tears because she was so overwhelmed — she had never had a cake on her birthday before.
Stories like these show how special and loved a cake can make a kid feel. When I became a volunteer, I wanted to do what that coordinator had done — I wanted to make kids feel worthy and cared for with my cakes.
In the Cake4Kids program, you have to be 18 years old to decorate cakes by yourself, and 16 years old to be a parent-teen team. Since I am 16, I decided to team up with my mom, who has created recipes for Food52 and entered Pillsbury baking contests all her life.
As a volunteer, you are responsible for signing up to make a cake, making the kid’s desired cake flavor, decorating the cake according to the kid’s wishes, delivering the cake to the social workers partnered with Cake4Kids and writing an email about your experience baking the cake to the coordinators.
To keep each kid’s personal information and identity anonymous, bakers don’t get any feedback on how the kid liked the cake unless the parent or social worker is comfortable providing it.
Below are several of my personal experiences with Cake4kids baking over the summer.
June 8:
Since this was my and my mom’s first-ever Cake4Kids project, we signed up to make Dragon Ball Z–themed brownies for a boy. To make it abundantly clear that these were Dragon Ball Z brownies, we printed and cut out pictures of all the main characters and stuck them in the brownies. Afterward, we added a smooth layer of chocolate ganache, decorated them with fondant (an edible, clay-like substance used to sculpt or decorate cakes) and added a sprinkle of edible gold stars before we delivered them to the boy’s social worker. We were so thrilled with the result of our work and hoped he loved it as much as we did.
June 10:
The next cake we signed up for was for a girl who wanted a red velvet cake with vanilla buttercream frosting. She wanted her cake to be Joker-themed, and with her last name written on it. My mom worked on making the Joker fondant face while I prepared the cake and frosted it. We wanted to go with a purple and green color scheme to represent the Joker’s tuxedo. Some of our favorite touches were writing her last name in the Joker’s teeth and making the red fondant “haha” — we felt it brought the whole cake together. My mom and I were incredibly proud of the outcome of this cake.
July 1:
This cake for a boy was a “batter days are coming” cake, intended for people who may be having rough mental health days due to the pandemic. He wanted a computer- and math-themed cake. We made a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting that wasn’t too sweet, as requested. We forgot to double the recipe on our first try but got it right the second time. When we first frosted the cake, we realized we wanted to make a blue frosting over our crumb coat — the original brown color was not too appealing. The only problem: we had run out of powdered sugar, and it was too late to go to the store.
At this point, we had to improvise, and we attempted to make a new, whipped buttercream recipe with flour and granulated sugar. We couldn’t have been happier with our decision. The cake turned out so vibrant, and the fondant calculator we made looked so cute against the blue frosting! Although we faced many unexpected obstacles, we absolutely loved the way the cake looked in the end, and we hoped this brightened the boy’s day.
For this cake, we were lucky enough to get a feedback reply. His mom said that he enjoyed the chocolate cake and was stunned by how real the calculator looked.
July 10:
For our last cake of the summer, we were assigned a Fortnite cake for a boy. Fortnite cakes are one of the most heavily requested cakes by boys. For my birthday, my mom gave me a fondant kit with a bunch of tools and cut-outs. We decided to put this kit to use. We made a bunch of fondant sculptures, including the llama, the treasure chest, the life pill, the fire, the pix-ax, the leaves and more. One of my favorites touches: the trees made out of sugar cones. We also liked the whipped buttercream we used in the calculator cake so much that we used it on this cake. We hope that he was totally wowed by this cake.
Cake4Kids has given me so much joy, and I hope it has given thousands of kids that same joy as well.
As I continue with my journey with Cake4Kids throughout this year, I will never forget the power a cake holds.
Contact Kiana George at 803270 ‘at’ seq.org.
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Silicon Valley Nonprofits - Cake4Kids
Cake4Kids Executive Director Julie Eades joins Silicon Valley Nonprofits to talk about Cake4Kids
Silicon Valley Nonprofits
Posted Monday, March 9, 2020
If the video above doesn’t work, you can watch the segment here.
Sunnyvale Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce Awards Cake4Kids for Outstanding Community Contribution 2020
On February 22, 2020, Cake4Kids was honored by the Sunnyvale Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce at the 55th Annual Murphy Awards Dinner.
Councilmember Russ Melton presented us with the award for Outstanding Community Contribution. We spoke about our amazing and selfless volunteers and proudly accepted this award.
This award belongs to all of you who bake in Santa Clara County. Thank you!
Black History Month: Performing Stars, Black aviators encourage students to 'reach for the skies'
Cake4Kids donated treats to our agency partner, Performing Stars of Marin, for this amazing event!
ABC7 News
By Jobina Fortson
Friday, February 21, 2020
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Performing Stars is a nonprofit helping underserved kids in Marin County achieve their potential.
The organization hosted an event at Lucasfilm where students learned about the Tuskegee airmen. The airmen, who fought in World War II, became the first black pilots in the U.S. military.
Performing Stars students then got to come face to face with today's black pilots, aviation professionals, and even an astronaut.
Every speaker on the stage is continuing to make black history. They desperately hope by sharing their experiences, they'll encourage other young minds to take flight.
The industry needs them. Every airline is experiencing a major pilot and technician shortage.
A Boeing 2019 report projects that 804,000 new civil aviation pilots, 769,000 new maintenance technicians, and 914,000 new cabin crew will be needed to fly and maintain the world fleet over the next 20 years.
The diversity numbers are even more stunning. According to Alaska Airlines, black female pilots make up about one half of 1 percent of all professional pilots across the industry.
"I have had a lot of firsts," Alaska Airlines Captain Tara Wright said. "It's sort of interesting that in 2018, I was part of the first all African American female flight crew for Alaska Airlines."
Captain Wright's flight traveled from SFO to Portland. She's an Oakland native and has girls believing a woman's place is at 30,000 feet.
Students were beaming after learning about careers in aviation.
"I want to be a pilot," Akasha Moore, a 5-year-old Performing Stars student, said.
"I love brownies and flying in the sky," Kashmeer Gomez, a 4-year-old Performing Stars student said.
Flying is expensive and not always accessible. Courtland Savage developed a nonprofit that's finding a way around that.
"With Fly for the Culture, we're promoting diversity and inclusion in the aviation industry," Courtland Savage, pilot and CEO of Fly for the Culture said. "We're doing that by taking young children up on free flights on a smaller aircraft. I want every kid to get a chance to fly."
Lieutenant Colonel Jason Harris hails from Oakland as well. He said every time he flies in and out of that airport, he gets chills. He wants other black children to one day have that same experience.
"I stand on the shoulders of giants just like those original Tuskegee airmen," Lt. Col. Harris said. "I want these young people to have the opportunity to see that I'm just like them, and to show them that they have the opportunity to stand on my shoulders and all those that were on that stage with me today."
If the video above doesn’t work, you can watch the segment here.
Cake4Kids Makes Birthdays Special For Local Kids In Foster Care And Homeless Shelters
The Silicon Valley Voice
Erika Towne
February 6, 2020, 08:00 AM
The Sunnyvale nonprofit Cake4Kids doesn’t have an official location, but the footprint that it leaves on Bay Area youth living in foster care is immeasurable. For the past 10 years, Cake4Kids has partnered with a variety of local agencies that work with kids in the foster care system, group homes, homeless shelters and domestic violence shelters bringing them birthday cakes on a day that is otherwise forgotten…
The Silicon Valley Voice
By Erika Towne
February 6, 2020 8:00 a.m.
The Sunnyvale nonprofit Cake4Kids doesn’t have an official location, but the footprint that it leaves on Bay Area youth living in foster care is immeasurable. For the past 10 years, Cake4Kids has partnered with a variety of local agencies that work with kids in the foster care system, group homes, homeless shelters and domestic violence shelters bringing them birthday cakes on a day that is otherwise forgotten.
“[With foster children] there’s nothing ever really for themselves. We want [a birthday cake that is] really special; that says their name. It’s a custom cake for them. They can ask for a theme, a flavor, anything they want,” said Julie Eades, Executive Director of Cake4Kids. “The two most important things are: it’s specially made for that child, baked with love and we never let the child down. Every cake makes a difference in their lives.”
Cake4Kids was started in 2010 by Libby Gruender who read a story about a foster mom who baked a cake for the new child she was fostering. The child ran away in tears. What the foster mom later found out is that the young girl had never had a birthday cake until that moment.
“Libby couldn’t conceive of that so she started a little grassroots effort in Santa Clara County,” said Eades.
In its first year, Gruender’s Cake4Kids baked 13 cakes.
“It just snowballed from there,” said Eades. “[Libby] was very strong minded, also very personable so she could really convince people to help her. She got a group of people and began to talk to more agencies and gradually got it off the ground.”
Gruender died of cancer in 2013, but before she passed, she asked Eades and a few other friends to keep the nonprofit going. Not only did it keep going, but it grew.
Cakes4Kids baked 5,177 cakes in 2019 for kids not only in Santa Clara County, but other parts of the country too including Virginia, San Diego and Sacramento.
Eades truly believes the cakes have a lasting impact on the children.
“I think the children who do experience this, it starts to help them with a number of things,” said Eades “Self-esteem, they begin to trust the people around them. They’re not just paid to work for them, they’re doing something for the love of them as well. We also hear from the social workers that sometimes it really helps them with their bonds with child.”
Aside from one full-time staff member and a few part-time ones, Cake4Kids is volunteer based. Eades donates her time and so do the bakers. The volunteer bakers don’t get the joy of delivering the cake in person, but they often paid in thank you letters from the kids.
“There was a 14-year-old girl in the East Bay and she requested a soccer themed cake, did not want her name and did not want happy birthday on the cake,” said Eades. “About two or three months later, I got a letter in our PO Box from the young girl…it went on to say something like, ‘Thank you so much for baking my cake, exactly how I wanted it. I want to explain to you why I didn’t want my name or happy birthday on the cake. My birthday does not represent a good memory for me. My parents’ rights were terminated at that time and it doesn’t bring very good memories for me. However, my social worker says I should be positive and I will get adopted and I really hope I am because I want to live with a family again. So, if I’m adopted, I want to use my adoption date as my new birthday…I hope next year that you do get a request from me and it actually says my name and happy birthday.’ We looked in our database this year and we didn’t have a request from her so we all hope that actually meant that she was adopted.”
To find out more about Cake4Kids, visit their website at cake4kids.org.
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PRESS RELEASE: Cake4Kids Celebrates Nine Years in Santa Clara County Delivering Smiles to Local Children
More than 8,000 birthday cakes have been delivered to at-risk youth
September 17, 2019
SUNNYVALE, Calif. - For many children, a birthday is a special day filled with fun, family — and birthday cake. But for foster children and other at-risk youth, their special day is not always so.
Cake4Kids, a nonprofit organization founded in 2010 by Sunnyvale resident Libby Gruender, is celebrating its ninth birthday on September 17. The organization partners with Santa Clara County human and social services agencies to deliver birthday cakes, cupcakes or other treats to local at-risk youth. For many, it is the first birthday cake they have ever received. The cakes are baked by a dedicated group of volunteer bakers from Santa Clara County, who use their talents to put smiles on children's faces.
Since September 2010, Cake4Kids has served Santa Clara County underserved youth by:
Baking and delivering 8,260 cakes
Partnering with 54 local agencies to help ensure these youth have a birthday to remember
Growing its dedicated corps of volunteer bakers to more than 450
"The simple gift of a cake means so much more to these children than just a sweet treat. Our goal is to raise the children's self-esteem and confidence on their special day. It may be just a cake but the children we bake for know someone took the time and made the effort to do something special just for them," said Julie Eades, Executive Director of Cake4Kids. "We are so grateful to our wonderful volunteer bakers for all they do for the children - they are our secret ingredient!"
Cake4Kids currently operates in 10 counties in California and in Fairfax County, Virginia and has baked in excess of 15,000 cakes to underserved children since its founding.
Local human and social services agencies submit cake requests through an online portal, providing the child's requests, including their flavor preferences as well as their interests such as superheroes, NFL teams or the ever-popular Elsa from the Frozen movie. Bakers sign up to bake the cakes and deliver them to the agency
"I've always loved baking cakes. Then I met Libby when our boys were young, and I heard her idea for Cake4Kids," said Christina Cary, one of Cake4Kids longest-serving volunteers. "I knew it was a way to combine my hobby with helping foster children, and I signed up immediately. I just imagine if my own son didn't get a birthday cake, and I'm glad I can make one for another child."
To celebrate its ninth birthday, Cake4Kids is hosting a get-together for its local volunteers and bakers at a local establishment in Sunnyvale. For more information, visit Cake4Kids.org.
Cake4Kids Makes Birthday Cake Wishes Come True for Disadvantaged Youth
Berkeleyside NOSH
By Katie Lauter
March 5, 2019, 2 p.m.
Imagine growing up never having a birthday cake.
For the majority of us, the thought is difficult, if not inconceivable, to imagine. Most of us are fortunate to have celebrated our childhood birthdays with some kind of baked confections. But there are many children who will never receive a single birthday cake in their lives. A nonprofit called Cake4Kids is helping to change that…
Berkeleyside NOSH
By Katie Lauter
March 5, 2019 2:00 p.m.
Imagine growing up never having a birthday cake.
For the majority of us, the thought is difficult, if not inconceivable, to imagine. Most of us are fortunate to have celebrated our childhood birthdays with some kind of baked confections. But there are many children who will never receive a single birthday cake in their lives. A nonprofit called Cake4Kids is helping to change that.
Cake4Kids makes birthday cake dreams come true for disadvantaged youth, including those in foster care, group homes, homeless shelters, transitional and low-income housing and other agencies that support at-risk youth. The organization was founded in 2010 by the late Libby Gruender in Sunnyvale; today it is run by just four employees, but is supported by more than 700 volunteers to deliver cakes to young people in 10 (soon to be 11) California counties.
Cake4Kids connects with its recipients through social workers or agency caseworkers, who learn the preferred flavors and themes for a child’s desired birthday cake. Then it finds a volunteer to bake, decorate and deliver that cake. Volunteers must be at least 18-years-old (or 16, if with a parent volunteer), be a good baker (not necessarily pro-level, but decent with proficient decorating skills) and be able to deliver the decorated cake to a Cake4Kids agency during a specified time window. Bakers are expected to buy the ingredients and do all prep and baking at their homes, but Cake4Kids offers a stipend for cake decorating classes to those who want to up their game.
After hearing about Cake4Kids through a friend last year, I started volunteering for them in Alameda County, and I couldn’t be prouder to join in their work.
Through an in-person orientation, I learned the drill: volunteers sign up for cake request alerts via email and head online to best select a cake that fits their talents and timeline. For me, that means steering clear of elaborate cartoon characters and gluten-free requests, but a chocolate Transformers cake or a “pink and blue red velvet sparkle cake” are right up my alley.
As a former professional baker, I thought the entire process would be easy. The baking part was a breeze, but the decorating ended up being the challenging part. Mostly that was due to my own lofty ideas of what the cake should look like. My Transformers cake took three hours to frost and decorate, but for the pay-off, it was time well-spent.
My perfectionist tendencies shouldn’t discourage potential volunteers. Alison Bakewell, Cake4Kids director of operations said the organization doesn’t expect the resulting cakes to look like they were bought at a bakery. “We really try and reassure everyone that every cake doesn’t need to be this beautiful, professional-looking cake. We’re looking for a cake with a lot of love in it. We want to make the kids feel special.”
There are also plenty of requests for cupcakes, cookies and brownies if volunteers want to start with something basic. Lindsay Bierbrauer, manager of operations, expressed, “If all you can do is two dozen chocolate chip cookies and poke a ‘happy birthday’ banner in it, that’s great because there are kids whose only birthday wish is a batch of homemade cookies.”
Bakers deliver finished cakes to a Cake4Kids agency office. Due to privacy concerns, we never get to meet the recipients of our work, but we always get a personal thank you note from the Cake4Kids team and occasionally get feedback from the agencies who work with the kids.
“We hear over and over again from the youth, ‘I can’t believe someone took the time out of their day to make something just for me…I feel so incredibly special, and I don’t often feel that way,’” said Bakewell.
Sometimes, we even get thank you notes from the family or the kids themselves, like this one from Katelyn, age 13:
“In the past birthday cakes were not always an option as we were homeless, could not afford a cake or had [no] place to bake one. When I do get a cake I make sure to eat it slowly and savor every bite so that the memory will stay with me. This birthday cake definitely will. Thank you again for all that you do.”
A grandmother of a five-year-old named Adam sent this thank you note to Cake4Kids:
“My heart cannot express how deeply touched I am that someone who does not know me or my grandchild was willing to go out of their way to make his birthday so special. To you it may have been a set of cupcakes that took a couple of hours to bake and decorate but to my grandson and I, this made him feel special and loved.
My grandson is lucky (in a way) that he is only five and does not fully comprehend the details around why he is in my care, but as he gets older this information will need to be shared. Birthdays will come and go where he may question why his parents are not included. Having a birthday cake made especially for him will hopefully take some of the sting and hurt away while turning his birthday into a happy occasion verses a sad one.
Thank you Cake4Kids and this amazing baker who are looking at ways to help a community/population that desperately needs it.”
Cake4Kids has seen tremendous growth since its inception. In 2010, the group delivered 13 cakes; in 2013, 500; and in 2018, almost 4,000 cakes were delivered. Overall, Cake4Kids has made and delivered more than 10,000 cakes. And thanks to growing interest, the organization is expanding outside of California this year to Virginia, Washington and Vancouver.
As Cake4Kids expands, it recognizes its biggest challenge is making the work scalable while keeping all of the personal touches. And as Bierbrauer acknowledged, volunteering is gratifying, but it’s mostly solitary work. So to help maintain a stronger connection with volunteers, the organization started holding baker meetups where volunteers can get to know each other and nerd out about cake decorating techniques, strengthening the community. Also helping on that front are “ambassadors” and “community coordinator” volunteers who help grow and support the organization in new areas.
Growing up, I never thought about how deeply special a birthday cake is. That has changed in the hours I’ve spent baking and decorating with Cake4Kids. For these kids, a birthday cake is a bright spot that shines just for them. It’s a sign that they have worth. That they deserve to be celebrated. That people care. And I think that’s delicious.
To find out more and to sign up to volunteer, go to www.cake4kids.org.
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PRESS RELEASE: Cake4Kids Celebrates 8th Anniversary
Volunteer Bakers Continue Founder’s Legacy to Deliver Homemade Birthday Cakes to Underprivileged Children
September 17, 2018, California — Today, in honor of their very first cake being made and delivered on September 17, 2010, Cake4Kids is celebrating its 8th anniversary.
For the past eight years, in 10 counties across California including San Francisco, Contra Costa, Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Marin, Fresno, San Diego, Napa & Sacramento Counties, Cake4Kids’ non-profit organization has baked and delivered over 10,000 birthday cakes for foster children and at-risk youth.
Cake4Kids was founded in September 2010 in Sunnyvale, CA by Libby Gruender to provide free birthday cakes to foster children and at-risk youth in her community. What Libby started in 2010 as a grassroots effort with a few volunteers baking 13 cakes for a few agencies in her neighborhood has turned into a robust operation with hundreds of volunteers currently baking for over 140 agencies. Sadly, Libby passed away in 2013, but Cake4Kids strives to keep her mission going. Every year Cake4Kids recruits new volunteers, partners with more agencies, and provides more and more children with birthday cakes.
Cake4Kids supports underprivileged children and youth through partnerships with social and human services agencies, such as foster care programs, group homes, domestic violence or human trafficking programs, and homeless or low-income housing, with or without a parent.
Cake4Kids is powered by a small staff and a talented, compassionate group of volunteers, most of whom are home-bakers. There are no minimum volunteer commitments - volunteers choose how often they want to bake a cake and which cake theme to fulfill from the Cake4Kids’ online platform. Each volunteer then bakes in their home and delivers the cake to one of the agencies Cake4Kids serves. Cake4Kids is looking to grow and add more agencies and bakers to their team as well as non-baker volunteers that have operational, communications and fundraising skills.
To find out more about Cake4Kids, please visit: www.cake4kids.org or find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & Pinterest. You may also contact Julie Eades, Executive Director, Cake4Kids, Tel: 650-521-6437, julie@cake4kids.org
Note to editors- possible photo/on-camera opportunities may be available TODAY:
On September 17, 2018, we will deliver 8 cakes to underserved children between the ages of 4 and 19 years old to a variety of agencies, including: Monument Crisis in Contra Costa County, Bill Wilson Center and KAFPA in Santa Clara County, Casa de Amparo in San Diego and Transitions Children's Services, Golden State Family Services, and North Star Family Center in Fresno.
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2016 Sharks and Strikes Event
San Jose Sharks
December 14, 2016 3:09 p.m.
The Sharks Foundation hosts their annual bowling event with the players, coaches, and broadcasters
If the video above doesn’t work, you can watch the segment here.
Non Profit Bakes Thousands Of Cakes For At-Risk Children (Radio Interview)
August 8, 2016
Bakers volunteer for the nonprofit organization Cake4Kids, which was started by Libby Gruender in Sunnyvale in 2010. Gruender died in 2013, but the small organization she founded now includes about 400 home bakers, who this year are expected to frost 2,000 birthday cakes for children who otherwise wouldn't be blowing out any candles.
If the audio above doesn’t work, you can listen to the segment here.
Uplifting Stories – A Girl’s Birthday With No Cake
Birthdays should always accompanied by cake, right?! It’s something so many of us take for granted…
Foodheavenmag.com
July 27, 2016
This article was sourced from NBC News
This is an uplifting story of Mother, Elaine Karpen and her Daughter, Samantha recently baked a Mine-craft themed cake which was prepared using the kitchen of a Los Altos community centre. The cake was not only fun and colourful but was baked with a lot of kindness too.
The girl they made the cake for was one they had never met. This girl would be very unlikely to receive a cake on her birthday were it not for this loving pair. Mother, Elaine, explained that when she was young someone did a similar thing for her when family times were turbulent. Even after 32 years she remembers that compassionate gesture.
The wonderful thing about this story is that its not all that uncommon, many children like this girl, like Karpen get a birthday cake from minds and hearts alike.
“I suspect we’ll end up this year at about 2,200-2,300 cakes,” explains Julie Eades, Executive Director of Cake4Kids. “Our mission is to bake a custom birthday cake for a child. That’s it.”
Cake4Kids was born in 2010 and founded by Libby Gruender (who sadly passed away in 2013). Cakes4Kids partners with social service agencies in America to discover who, for financial, social, or domestic reasons, will perhaps not have anyone to buy or bake them a cake for their birthday.
Julie Eades explained a situation they came across last year; “We had a youth last year who was 20. He’d never ever had a birthday cake…He couldn’t believe the cake was for him because he’d never had a cake for himself.”
This incredible non-profit company have a database of over 600 volunteer bakers who are up for making a cake for a vulnerable child’s birthday and it’s always a memorable one at that! The child is part anonymous for privacy reasons, the baker will only ever know their first name and they don’t meet the child or are present when the child sees the cake.
Even with this safety barrier the uplifting truth is that children often send thank you cards which are always sent on to the baker themselves.
With Elaine Karpen’s cake, their was an exception in this case. She delivered her cake to Jayla, an 8 year old girl who loves Mine-craft! “It was great to see Jayla’s smile,” Karpen says.
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A Birthday With No Cake? Non Profit Bakes Thousands Of Cakes For At-Risk Children Who Might Otherwise Not Have One
By Garvin Thomas
July 21, 2016 (Updated January 12, 2018 12:18 am)
If the video above doesn’t work, you can watch the segment here.
The best birthday cakes are a magical combination of food, color, and fun. The pink and purple, Minecraft-themed cake that Elaine Karpen and her daughter, Samantha, recently prepared using the kitchen of a Los Altos community center was all of those things. It also had a whole lot of kindness baked into it as well.
That's because the girl Karpen was making the cake for, is one she doesn't know. A girl who would likely not have a cake on her birthday were it not for the one. Karpen said a stranger did the same thing for her when she was young and times were tough for her family.
"32 years later I still remember that cake," Karpen said.
As great as all that is, though, perhaps the best thing about the cake she and her daughter baked is that it's not the only one like it. Far from it.
"I suspect we'll end up this year at about 2,200-2,300 cakes," said Julie Eades, Executive Director of Cake4Kids. "Our mission is to bake a custom birthday cake for a child. That's it."
Started in 2010 by Libby Gruender (who passed away in 2013), Cakes4Kids partners with social service agencies around the Bay Area to identify young clients who, for financial, social, or domestic reasons, might not have anyone who can bake or buy a cake for their birthday.
"We had a youth last year who was 20. He'd never ever had a birthday cake," Eades said. "He couldn't believe the came was for him because he'd never had a cake for himself."
The non-profit now has a database of more than 600 volunteer bakers willing to make a needy child's birthday a memorable one. Because of privacy issues, though, the bakers never know more than the child's first name and are never around when the child sees and eats their cake.
Eades says, however, they do get many, touching thank you cards from children. Those are always forwarded on to the baker.
With Karpen's cake, however, an exception was made.
She was able to deliver her cake to Jayla, the young Minecraft-loving 8-year-old who requested it.
"I was great to see Jayla's smile," Karpen says. "It makes all the work worthwhile."
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Nonprofit Believes Every Child Deserves a Birthday Cake
Cake4Kids volunteers bake 1,800 cakes a year -- with love
Danville-San Ramon
By Dolores Fox Ciardelli
Uploaded: Thu, Jul 14, 2016, 3:15 pm
The foster mom did what came naturally when her new child had a birthday: She baked her a chocolate cake.
When the girl came home from school and saw the cake, she burst into tears. The foster mom said she was sorry for upsetting her and explained she'd meant to make her happy. She offered to bake a different cake, if the girl didn't like chocolate.
"It's not that," she replied. "I've just never had a birthday cake."
Libby Gruender of Sunnyvale read about that incident in 2010 and pledged to provide birthday cakes for children in foster care so they would each feel loved on their special day. She founded Cake4Kids to carry out the mission…
Cake4Kids volunteers bake 1,800 cakes a year -- with love
Danville-San Ramon
By Dolores Fox Ciardelli
July 14, 2016 3:15 pm
The foster mom did what came naturally when her new child had a birthday: She baked her a chocolate cake.
When the girl came home from school and saw the cake, she burst into tears. The foster mom said she was sorry for upsetting her and explained she'd meant to make her happy. She offered to bake a different cake, if the girl didn't like chocolate.
"It's not that," she replied. "I've just never had a birthday cake."
Libby Gruender of Sunnyvale read about that incident in 2010 and pledged to provide birthday cakes for children in foster care so they would each feel loved on their special day. She founded Cake4Kids to carry out the mission.
Gruender died in 2013 but her commitment lives on, and Cake4Kids has expanded. Today 400 volunteer bakers across the Bay Area, including more than 30 in the San Ramon Valley, produce 1,800 cakes a year working with more than 65 agencies.
"Now we also deal with low income, homeless shelters, domestic violence agencies, human trafficking agencies," executive director Julie Eades said. "We help mothers who are getting back on their feet -- a lot of people are looking after the mothers, and the children kind of get on with their lives."
"These kids often live in hand-me-downs, they often don't get anything of their own," she said. "Some are moved from group home to group home, and birthday cakes are not considered an essential of life."
Cake4Kids recently provided the first birthday cake for a 20-year-old man who had spent his life in group homes.
"It is like a moment in time when people sing to you in front of your cake," Eades said.
"The cakes are all home-baked," she added. "When someone bakes a cake for another person, it is baked with a certain amount of love."
Of course, with so many cakes there are bound to be a few emergencies -- such as a dropped cake -- when someone has to dash into a bakery, she added with a laugh.
"We have all sorts of cake dramas," she noted.
Each cake has the child's name on it and is created according to his or her tastes or interests. A child might make a request, or a social worker will come up with an idea to personalize it.
"It helps with their self-esteem," Eades said. "Some ask for cupcakes and they take some to school to share."
Some of the bakers have nut-free kitchens so they take the requests from those dealing with allergies.
"A lot of our bakers get a lot of joy out of this," Eades said. "It is wonderful to combine people who love to bake with children."
Danville has 25 volunteer bakers, San Ramon has eight and Pleasanton has 20, according to the last report, in February.
"We are always looking for baker volunteers in Alameda and Contra Costa," Eades said. "You have to be at least 16." Visit the Cake4Kids website for more information.
"If there are any companies in the Tri-Valley area that encourage their employees to volunteer and have volunteer days or would like to host us on-site to talk about what we do, we'd love to do that," she added.
"The bakers never get to see the children. The agency gets the cake to the child," Eades said. "Sometimes these case workers don't always have the easiest relationships with the children -- they have been moved around and disappointed in life. I have heard stories where a social worker says she now has such a better relationship with a child."
The group works as far south as Gilroy. It opened in San Francisco last summer, just started in Marin County and has been requested in Solano County -- and in Fresno. The core group is developing software to help others get started.
"We might branch out and do chapters in the rest of California, and if that works out, we might take it to other states," Eades said.
Cake4Kids is mostly a volunteer organization but pays two part-time office staff members. It holds fundraisers to cover expenses, including an annual Cake-Off in the South Bay. Last month it held the first Cake-Off4Kids in the East Bay, at the Danville Community Center.
The Cake-Off had three categories: Best tasting, best decorated and best cake by someone under 15. The 23 contestants also brought a second cake, which they cut up and offered to the attendees. The fundraiser drew 115, with adults paying $30 to attend; children were $15. There was also a silent auction.
"With this first event, we just wanted to cover our costs but we did make some money," Eades said. "It was a fun family thing, only over a couple of hours. We also had a kids' activity area. We intend to be back next year for another one."
A fundraising Cake4Kids Celebration Dinner on Oct. 27 in Palo Alto will have a three-course dinner, wine, drawings and a live auction. Tickets are $150. Information will soon be published at Cake4Kids.org.
The group is funded mainly by donations from individuals, Eades said, and a lot of people find it on the internet.
"A woman whose mother had died contacted us," she said. "Her mother had been a foster child way back when, and she was looking to do something in lieu of flowers and said they'd like donations to go to our organization."
The entries at the Cake-Off4Kids were amazing, Eades said, but so are all the cakes made by the volunteer bakers.
She recalled a 12-year-old boy last year living in a shelter with his mother who worked three jobs to afford the rent. She asked the social worker for a "Frank Sinatra cake" because the boy's grandfather, who had died, used to play Sinatra records for him.
"One of our bakers picked up the request, put on a picture of Frank Sinatra, the boy's name, and the words, 'May you live to be 100,'" Eades remembered. "He said, 'I cried when I opened the box.' He thought it was the best thing ever."
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Cake4Kids: Volunteer bakers spread joy with birthday cakes for kids in need
East Bay Times
By Beth Jensen
May 27, 2016 at 3:41 p.m. | UPDATED: August 15, 2016 at 9:15 a.m.
DANVILLE — Each month around the Bay Area, scores of home bakers rev up their mixers and take up their spatulas to whip up a little something special — birthday cakes for children they’ll never meet.
Each confection is a custom order, happily decorated with dinosaurs, ponies, superheroes, Justin Bieber’s face — whatever the recipient loves. Each creation will be a rare personal treat for an underprivileged child. For some, it will be his or her first birthday cake ever…
East Bay Times
By Beth Jensen
May 27, 2016 3:41 p.m. (Updated: August 15, 2016 9:15 a.m.)
DANVILLE — Each month around the Bay Area, scores of home bakers rev up their mixers and take up their spatulas to whip up a little something special — birthday cakes for children they’ll never meet.
Each confection is a custom order, happily decorated with dinosaurs, ponies, superheroes, Justin Bieber’s face — whatever the recipient loves. Each creation will be a rare personal treat for an underprivileged child. For some, it will be his or her first birthday cake ever.
The bakers are all volunteers for the nonprofit organization Cake4Kids, which was started by Libby Gruender in Sunnyvale in 2010. Gruender died in 2013, but the small organization she founded now includes about 400 home bakers, who this year are expected to frost 2,000 birthday cakes for children who otherwise wouldn’t be blowing out any candles.
In past years, the organization has held an annual Cake-Off contest in Santa Clara County to honor bakers and raise funds. But now, with about half its volunteers based in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, the organization is having its first Cake-Off in the East Bay on June 11 in Danville.
There’s no shortage of need when it comes to birthday cakes, said the group’s executive director, Julie Eades.
“When we started, we primarily targeted foster care organizations and group homes,” she said. “We’ve since taken that a little further … We work with any agency with children who are underprivileged, such as domestic violence agencies. Sadly, we also work with some human trafficking agencies.”
Cake recipients are selected by local assistance groups from their client lists and range in age from toddlers to young adults coming out of the foster care system. All belong to families whose budgets can’t stretch far enough to provide a birthday treat.
“A lot of these people are living hand to mouth,” she said. “This area of incredible wealth is creating some of the worst poverty you can imagine … Most of these children are looked after by people paid to look after them, are moved from place to place, have hand-me-down clothes and never buy something for themselves. They live on the generosity of people around them.
“We had one youth in one of the agencies who had his very first birthday cake at the age of 20,” she added. “He couldn’t believe someone had baked a cake for him.”
Monument Crisis Center in Concord provides a range of services for about 10,000 low-income clients throughout Contra Costa County. At least 35 to 40 percent of those are children, said Executive Director Sandra Scherer. The agency receives about 10 cakes a month from Cake4Kids bakers.
“If you’re living on a budget, like most of our families, the average family of four has $300 left for the month after paying rent,” Scherer said. “That $300 is for transportation, clothing, shoes, utility bills and buying food … Things like birthdays are luxuries. It’s not that the families don’t want to provide for the kids.”
With a budget that tight, even buying the eggs and oil needed to make a boxed cake mix becomes prohibitive, Scherer said.
“A lot of our kids have never had a cake, never had a birthday party,” she said. “The family wouldn’t have the means to do it.”
Children chosen to receive cakes request a flavor and a theme. Bakers, who must maintain high quality standards, incorporate those requests into the cake, photograph the finished product and deliver the birthday treat, packaged in a professional bakery box, to the agency. The cakes are either picked up by a parent or delivered to the home by a case worker.
Requests run the gamut; Monument Crisis Center recently received a multicolor butterfly-themed cake, as well as one covered with pink and lilac zebra stripes.
“One year, we had a request for a girl on a painted horse throwing a football,” Eades recalled with a laugh. “One kid wanted a picture of Frank Sinatra on his cake; his old Italian grandfather had (shared) a record with him.”
Paula Dewberry, of Walnut Creek, is a passionate baker and first-time Cake4Kids volunteer. Her first assignment came from a girl asking for a vanilla cake featuring the cartoon character Peppa Pig. Dewberry already is planning how she’ll create the pink piggy face, complete with white chocolate eyes.
“I love to bake and so do both of my daughters, one of whom is 18 and the other 15 and a half,” she said. “I’m the official volunteer, but they’ll assist me whenever possible.”
“I could see myself doing one a month,” she said.
Receiving their own birthday cake helps children in difficult circumstances feel both special and normal, and it gives great pleasure to each home baker who volunteers, Eades said.
“We want (the bakers) to have real pleasure doing what they do, so it comes through in the cake,” she said. “We want the love baked into the cake.”
IF YOU GO
Cake4Kids Cake-Off will be held 3 to 5 p.m. June 11 at the Danville Community Center, 420 Front St. About 30 bakers will compete for cash prizes. Tickets, at $30 for adults and $15 for children ages 7-14, include unlimited cake tastings, refreshments, children’s activities and a silent auction featuring items such as wine, Giants tickets and a cabin rental at Donner Lake. Children under age 7 are free. For more information on participating in the event, obtaining tickets or becoming a Cake4Kids baker, go to www.cake4kids.org.
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Cake Design Contest Benefits a Sweet Cause
Baker Dana Slomich’s “Frozen” creation is seen here at a previous Cake-Off4Kids Competition (Photo courtesy Kelly Huang Photography/2014)
The Mercury News
May 10, 2016 12:04 p.m. (Updated: September 22, 2016 10:53 p.m.)
Amateur cake designers are invited to participate in a contest that tests their baking and creativity for a sweet cause.
Cake4Kids bakes and delivers birthday cakes to foster children and at risk youth, who wouldn’t otherwise have a birthday celebration.
To reward volunteers and raise awareness, the organization every year hosts a cake contest, which is open to Cake4Kids volunteers and the general public. Professional bakers do not participate.
This will be the organization’s sixth contest. The South Bay Cake-Off4Kids is set for May 22 from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Quinlan Community Center, 10185 N. Stelling Road in Cupertino.
Bakers can choose to enter various categories and the winners receive a cash prize. The event features refreshments, kids’ activities, a silent auction and unlimited cake tasting of all entered cakes.
The entry fee for bakers is $15. Tickets are $30 for adults, $15 for children ages 7-14 and free for those under age 7.
Since its inception in 2010, Cake4Kids has expanded to six counties, baked and delivered nearly 5,000 cakes, donated more than 15,000 hours and used more than 9,000 pounds of sugar, according to the organization’s website.
To register for the CakeOff, visit cake4kids.org/events
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The Intero Foundation Awards $5,000 to Cake4Kids
May 10, 2016, 10:00 am
CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Intero Foundation, a non-profit devoted to helping children in need, announced their latest round of funding supported by Intero’s offices in Los Gatos, San Jose (Willow Glen) and Saratoga. The Foundation donated $47,500 to local nonprofits that support low-income and disadvantaged youth…
The Intero Foundation Awards $47,500 to Local Children-Focused Organizations in April
May 10, 2016 10:00 am
CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Intero Foundation, a non-profit devoted to helping children in need, announced their latest round of funding supported by Intero’s offices in Los Gatos, San Jose (Willow Glen) and Saratoga. The Foundation donated $47,500 to local nonprofits that support low-income and disadvantaged youth. Since its inception, the Foundation, which is funded, promoted and governed by Intero Real Estate’s agents and employees, has raised more than $4.5 million.
“When we started Intero, we knew supporting our communities had to be a key core value of our company,” said Tom Tognoli, Intero President & CEO. “But 14 years later, I’m still amazed by the generosity and giving nature of our agents and employees every time we distribute these grants.”
Recipients of the April grants include:
Sacred Heart Nativity School (SHNS): The school was awarded $7,500 to purchase educational technology software focusing on language that adapts to a student’s level of learning. SHNS is the only free college prep school in the Bay Area and currently serves 127 low-income students.
InnVision Shelter Network: The organization received $6,000 to purchase materials for its Summer Adventure Camp. The six-week camp serves 100 homeless children ranging in age from 5-14.
Breakthrough Silicon Valley: The nonprofit received $5,000, which will be used to support an afterschool program that helps get college-bound students through the college admission process.
Shop with a Cop: The nonprofit was awarded $7,000 to support a Target shopping spree for children ages 5-12 that will be accompanied by a uniformed police officer. The program, which serves children who have experienced the loss of a parent through a violent crime or domestic violence, teams children with officers to give them a positive perspective of law enforcement.
Far West Wheelchair Athletic Association: The nonprofit received $6,000 to support a 7-day junior sport camp for 30 kids ranging in age from 5-21. The camp teaches the kids adaptive sports and life skills.
Cake4Kids: The nonprofit received $5,000 to purchase software to help coordinate and expand volunteers who bake and deliver customized birthday cakes for homeless and foster kids.
Jose Valdes Math Foundation: The nonprofit received $6,000 to support math tutoring on a college campus for kids who are 3 years behind in their math skills.
Animal Assisted Happiness: The nonprofit received $5,000 for the Barnyard Friends to bring therapeutic animals onsite to organizations that support disabled and autistic children.
To find out more about the Intero Foundation, visit us at interofoundation.org.
About the Intero Foundation:
Funded, promoted and governed by Intero agents and employees, the Intero Foundation is a non–profit organization guided by the principle that one must give in order to receive, and is committed to helping children in need. Since its inception in 2002, the organization has raised more than $4 million and has supported over 150 charities that positively impact the growth and well-being of children in need.
About the Intero® Brand:
Intero Real Estate Services, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate and wholly owned subsidiary of HomeServices of America Inc, serves Northern California with 16 offices throughout the greater Silicon Valley. The Intero Franchise network is comprised of nearly 50 affiliates located in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Tennessee and Texas. The company is headquartered in California’s Silicon Valley.
Find more information about Intero at www.interorealestate.com. Find more information about HomeServices at www.homeservices.com.
Contacts
Intero Real Estate Services
Teressa Francis, 408-342-3010
tfrancis@interorealestate.com
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LAHS Student's Cakes Support Foster Youth
Riley Fujioka of Los Altos High School bakes cakes for foster youth through the nonprofit agency Cake4Kids. (Photo courtesy of Apala Egan)
Los Altos Town Crier
By Apala Egan
June 10, 2015
Riley Fujioka, a member of the National Charity League’s Stanford Hills Chapter, has a sweet mission.
A sophomore at Los Altos High School, Fujioka has made it her goal to serve children, including those in foster care, at risk or without shelter. Many lack basic necessities and parental love and support.
To fill the gap, Fujioka volunteers with Cake4Kids, a Bay Area nonprofit that provides free birthday cakes for children who might not otherwise have them. Fujioka and her mother create cakes based on the child’s personal tastes.
“I want them to know that I spent time on it and not just threw things together,” said Fujioka, who has received the National Charity League’s Presidential Service, Gold Level and Merci awards for her volunteer efforts. “We want to make sure they realize that we know that their birthday is special and that someone cares for them. Mom and I spend time together figuring out how to make a cake special for children.”
According to Fujioka, after receiving a custom cake, the boost to a child’s self-esteem is immeasurable. She said the recipients of her cakes are typically 2- to 6-year-olds, but recently she and her mom baked a cake for an 18-year-old. Cake4Kids operates on a policy of strict confidentiality – volunteer bakers are only given the first names to write on the cakes.
Serving youth is an ongoing passion for Fujioka. She has also volunteered at Abilities United’s Summer’s Excellent Adventures Camp.
“It is hard to know that they have a disability until you talk to them,” she said of her time with Abilities United.
Fujioka said she hopes to major in psychology in college so that she can help children with disabilities.
“I would like to help them lead normal lives,” she said.
In addition to being an outstanding student, Fujioka is a star athlete and longtime member of the Stanford Diving Club.
For more information on Cake4Kids, visit cake4kids.org.
For more information on the National Charity League, visit stanfordhillsncl.org.
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Cake-Off4Kids Baking Contest to Raise Money for Sunnyvale-based Nonprofit
The Mercury News
By Alia Wilson
August 27, 2014 at 12:08 p.m. (UPDATED: August 12, 2016 at 6:41 a.m.)
You don’t have to tune in to TLC’s “Next Great Baker” to see inspiring pastry creations.
From “Despicable Me” characters to fondant Crown Jewels, edible masterpieces will be on display–and ready to taste–at the annual Cake-Off4Kids baking contest and fundraiser, where a variety of Silicon Valley bakers showcase their talents.
The fourth annual event will be held on Sept. 13 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Domain Hotel in Sunnyvale for one evening of sweet fun.
The event benefits local nonprofit Cake4Kids. Since 2010, the volunteer-run, Sunnyvale-based nonprofit has been making foster kids and at-risk youth free personalized birthday cakes on a day that might otherwise go unnoticed…
The Mercury News
By Alia Wilson
August 27, 2014 12:08 p.m. (Updated: August 12, 2016 6:41 a.m.)
You don’t have to tune in to TLC’s “Next Great Baker” to see inspiring pastry creations.
From “Despicable Me” characters to fondant Crown Jewels, edible masterpieces will be on display–and ready to taste–at the annual Cake-Off4Kids baking contest and fundraiser, where a variety of Silicon Valley bakers showcase their talents.
The fourth annual event will be held on Sept. 13 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Domain Hotel in Sunnyvale for one evening of sweet fun.
The event benefits local nonprofit Cake4Kids. Since 2010, the volunteer-run, Sunnyvale-based nonprofit has been making foster kids and at-risk youth free personalized birthday cakes on a day that might otherwise go unnoticed.
There will be 50 cake entries in five different baking categories, and the grand prize winners will receive a $100 cash prize. The categories are best decorated, made by kids, best tasting, ultimate chocolate and creative cupcakes.
This is the first year that the event will be put on without its founder, the late Libby Gruender.
Gruender started Cake4Kids in 2010 as a grassroots effort to help children in her community, after reading an article about a foster child who had never had a birthday cake. She died of cancer while under hospice care in her Sunnyvale home on Jan. 3, 2013. She was 52.
Last year Cake4Kids’ volunteers delivered 1,000 birthday cakes, spanning the San Francisco Bay Area. This time last year, the nonprofit was serving 20 agencies, but has increased the number to 29 in the past 12 months.
Volunteers will be continuing Gruender’s tradition of naming a volunteer of the year, only this year a plaque has been created for the winners.
“We are excited to have her husband, John Groat, and their sons, who will be present to help bestow the grand prize awards to our winners,” said Trish O’Dwyer, Cake4Kids program director of operations. “It’s been a way to involve him and the children, and it also remembers Libby. Lots of volunteers don’t even know Libby; they never met her. But, if anything, this will cause them to ask about her and that’s enough.”
Those not participating in the contest can purchase tickets to sample the cakes on display, enjoy a buffet dinner provided by Mio Vicino and participate in a silent auction.
This year’s auction items include memorabilia from the Golden State Warriors, a weekend at a private retreat in Tahoe, tickets to Six Flags theme park, numerous restaurant gift certificates and museum tickets.
Only 250 tickets will be sold to the public. Ticket prices are $25 if purchased before Aug. 31, and $30 after. Tickets are $15 for children ages 7-14. Children under 7 are free.
The fee to enter the contest as a baker is $15.
There will also be a cash bar with wine and cocktails.
The Domain Hotel is located at 1085 E. El Camino Real in Sunnyvale.
For more information visit cake4kids.org.
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Amateur Bakers Compete In Cake-Off4Kids
The Silicon Valley Voice
By Cynthia Cheng
October 2, 2013, 12:00 am
On September 14 at the Domain Hotel in Sunnyvale, about 50 bakers put their best cake forward at Cake-Off4Kids, a baking competition benefiting Cake4Kids. The non-profit organization matches volunteer bakers up with underserved and foster youth to donate birthday cakes.
After guests dined on food provided by Santa Clara’s Mio Vicino, they headed upstairs to the cake tasting room. The tasting room separated bakers by five categories: best decorated, best tasting, ultimate chocolate, creative cupcakes, and “made by kids.” Guests collected cake samples in white muffin cups and mingled with the bakers…
The Silicon Valley Voice
By Cynthia Cheng
October 2, 2013 12:00 am
On September 14 at the Domain Hotel in Sunnyvale, about 50 bakers put their best cake forward at Cake-Off4Kids, a baking competition benefiting Cake4Kids. The non-profit organization matches volunteer bakers up with underserved and foster youth to donate birthday cakes.
After guests dined on food provided by Santa Clara’s Mio Vicino, they headed upstairs to the cake tasting room. The tasting room separated bakers by five categories: best decorated, best tasting, ultimate chocolate, creative cupcakes, and “made by kids.” Guests collected cake samples in white muffin cups and mingled with the bakers.
“I saw a cake like this online,” says Jen Doyle, 13, of an iPad cake she made with fondant featuring icons of commonly used apps. “This is a vanilla cake with strawberries and whipped cream.”
Clark Koskela, 12, made an allergen-free spice cake with coconut glaze. The cake contained no gluten, dairy, egg, soy, or cane sugar, ingredients Koskela is allergic to.
“I’ve made a lot of spice cakes and it’s the cake I have the most experience with,” Koskela says. “[For the spices], I added some cinnamon and ginger.”
“This is a mango cake and I used fondant to decorate; the intricate damask motif, this stencil pattern, was done with buttercream,” says Kshama Swamy, who won first prize and $100 for the best decorated cake. “I am a self-taught baker. I learn by watching YouTube videos.”
Cake-off guests also learned about Cake4Kids and recognized its volunteers. Winning the Volunteer of the Year award was Claire Campodonico, who baked 75 cakes for children in the last three years.
“We do 80 cakes a month. We serve the South Bay and East Bay combined, and we have 275 volunteers,” says Debbie Tryforos, a resident of Santa Clara who serves as an agency liaison and volunteer coordinator for Cake4Kids. “Some of the children we serve have never had a birthday cake. Just knowing someone cared enough to make a cake for them, with their names put on, is important.”
“You don’t want a kid’s birthday to be forgotten,” adds Kate Krummel, also a resident of Santa Clara and an event planner for Cake4Kids. “The people I drop off the cakes to are always super appreciative.”
“This cake-off pulls together the community of amateur bakers starting from age five and onward,” says Melanie Gill, executive director of Cake4Kids. “The money [we raise tonight] goes toward running our organization and other programs.”
Email info@cake4kids.org for information about being a volunteer.
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