Cake4Kids provides a small gesture that comes with big feelings

by Sergio Garcia: Special to The Desert Sun

Macaroni and cheese, yin and yang, Donny and Marie, cakes and kids — they all go so well together. You might assume that every child gets a birthday cake on their special day. But sometimes, that’s not what happens. Cake4Kids tries to fill that gap for children that may otherwise go without.

“It’s inconceivable to me that a child might not get this recognition on their birthday,” said Coachella Valley Cake4Kids ambassador Ray Biller. “But many children in our community don’t. It’s like a wake-up call, and it’s at the heart of what we do. We make these kids smile and build their self-esteem. It impacts their families, too. They would love to give more to their loved ones but are stretched so thin financially.”

Cake4Kids partners with local children's services agencies. They identify when a child might not be able to receive a cake on an important day, like a birthday, graduation, neighborhood welcome, special holiday or unique achievement. Volunteers bake cakes, cookies, cupcakes and brownies and deliver them to agencies, who in turn present the treats to children. Boys & Girls Club of Palm Springs, Olive Crest, Shelter from the Storm, Coachella Valley Rescue Mission, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Rio Vista Elementary all currently participate, and Cake4Kids is looking to expand that roster.

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Cake4Kids Ambassador Ray Biller poses with volunteer baker Cathy Walker Montgomery and her husband, Ron.

Volunteer bakers, donations needed to fulfill birthday cake wishes of underprivileged children

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.

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Cake4Kids on NBC Palm Springs

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.

Get your bake on: Make and decorate a cake for an underserved youth

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.

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In brief: Let them eat cake

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.

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