Cake4Kids Still Cooking One Year Later

Volunteer bakers from the 2nd Sacramento orientation on August 18, 2018 at Arcade Library.

Sacramento Oracle
Story and photos by Trina L. Dotar
August 23, 2019

SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) - In 2018, Cake4Kids arrived in Sacramento, thanks to Mary Barnes’ efforts. Barnes is the Sacramento ambassador for the Sunnyvale-based nonprofit. She has grown her area volunteers into a force of nearly 100 strong. Two dozen gathered on August 3rd to celebrate the one year anniversary of the first cake delivery in Sacramento to Opening Doors.

Since that first delivery, Barnes and her volunteers have made 135 deliveries to more than two dozen agencies throughout the region. The group averages 2.5 deliveries per week, and Barnes said that volunteers are eager to bake more cakes, cupcakes, and cookies.

“I’ve not found a lack of agencies to partner with,” said Barnes and explained that the process is long, especially since many nonprofits have limited staff.

She worked closely with Alison Bakewell, Director of Operations for Cake4Kids, to reach out to agencies by telephone or mail, and they both did a lot of follow up, often waiting to hear back for several months.

One of the agencies she contacted is Next Move Family Shelter. Javier Leon, the organization’s Children’s Services Coordinator, gave a short presentation to the volunteers.

“I try to make sure the children don’t miss out in development opportunities and having fun,” he wrote in an email. “Since February 2019, I have been able to get volunteer bakers from Cake4kids to bring cupcakes, one of the biggest highlights of each party! The children look forward to each batch of cupcakes because each volunteer baker adds their own special design on it. Once a volunteer baker made cupcakes with frosting shaped as flowers. Some kids didn’t want to eat it because they thought it was so beautiful. I’m very thankful Cake4kids exists to allow children experiencing homelessness to not miss out in having cupcakes at birthday parties.”

Leon’s statements echo those of other agencies since the purpose of Cake4Kids is to provide children with possibly the only birthday cake they have ever received. Many children are homeless, recent immigrants, in foster care, or victims of human trafficking.

Volunteer bakers are often challenged by requests for perhaps a vegan banana cake topped with vegan chocolate frosting, the request for the first cake delivered to Opening Doors on August 3rd, 2018.

The process to become a volunteer baker includes a mandatory orientation in order to learn more about Cake4Kids, including the demographics served, and resources. Orientations are held most months and are listed on the organization’s website. The next Sacramento orientation takes place in September.

Barnes, who is as dedicated to bringing cakes to at-risk children as she is to her full-time employment, said she spent an hour on her birthday meeting with representatives from Guardian Scholars Program at Sacramento State. The program serves transitional foster youth up to the age of 24 who are attending college, a program that Barnes called “amazing,” because few foster youth attend college.

Many, she added, don’t graduate from high school, but she learned that two who are being assisted by Guardian Scholars are pursuing master’s degrees.

To be able to meet face to face with agencies is one of Barnes’ goals. She has the opportunity to learn more about the organization, the population it serves, and express Cake4Kids’ gratitude for how each organization serves and supports the community.

“It really helps plant a strong relationship from the beginning,” said Barnes.

She has expanded the region from the first agency in Arden Arcade and volunteer bakers from Sacramento to agencies and volunteers in Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova, Carmichael, Roseville, and all of Sacramento. She is discussing future plans with agencies in Placer county.

“We can’t do it without our volunteers’ help,” she said, and that she’d like to work hand in hand with a volunteer in the future.

“Our volunteers are everywhere in the Sacramento region. They make my job much easier. They’re doing the weekly deliveries. I’m behind the scenes.”

Although volunteers bake the goodies, decorate them, and package them according to Cake4Kids’ guidelines, they never see the smiles of the children. It doesn’t seem to matter to them. They want to bake and bring the joy of a birthday treat to children.

“Another Cake4Kids celebration,” Barnes said, “is right around the corner.” On September 17th, the public and interested bakers are invited to attend an open house and information session.

One year ago, Barnes said her goal was to reach 100 volunteers, and she’s nearly accomplished that feat.

“I’m so appreciative of all the volunteers who have come forward. It was daunting to start this. I believed it and people showed up,” said Barnes, adding that she is indebted to the volunteers. For additional information, visit https://www.cake4kids.org/.

—-

Link to article or download the PDF

Cake4Kids Bakes Birthday Cakes for At-Risk Kids (Radio Interview)

If the audio above doesn’t work, you can listen to the segment here.

The Afternoon News with Kitty O'Neal
By Kitty O'Neal
July 30, 2019

Cake4Kids celebrates one year in Sacramento delivering smiles to local children

More than 135 birthday cakes have been delivered to at-risk youth since August 2018

For many children, a birthday is a special day filled with fun, family — and birthday cake. But for foster children, refugees and other at-risk youth, their special day is not always so.

Cake4Kids has been partnering with Sacramento-area social service agencies since August 2018 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 the Sacramento area, who use their talents to put smiles on childrens’ faces.

Since August 2018, Cake4Kids has:

• Made more than 135 deliveries to Sacramento area youth

• Partnered with 24 local agencies to help ensure these youth have a birthday to remember

• Grown our dedicated corps of volunteer bakers to more than 90

“A birthday cake is a very simple, but very powerful way to let a child know that they are loved and are important,” said Mary Barnes, Sacramento Cake4Kids ambassador. “There is such a need in this area, and I am so grateful for our many, many volunteers who have stepped up over the past year and shown the power that individuals can have on the lives of young people.”

Local agencies submit cake requests through an online portal, providing the age and gender of the child, their flavor preferences as well as their interests (such as superheroes, princesses, soccer or Moana). Bakers sign up to bake high-quality cakes and deliver them directly to the agency.

"I'm so grateful to be a volunteer baker with Cake4Kids," said Katrina Butcher, a Sacramento Cake4Kids volunteer baker. "It's so unique to work with an organization that makes it possible for me to volunteer my time in a creative way and feels good to know that I'm helping someone feel special."

To celebrate the one-year anniversary, Cake4Kids Sacramento is hosting two events: an anniversary party for volunteers on Aug. 3 at Mango’s restaurant in Sacramento, and an open-to-the-public meet-up at Urban Roots Brewery on Sept. 17. Volunteer orientations are held monthly, and cake deliveries are made weekly.

For more information, visit Cake4Kids.org.

Mary Barnes, Volunteer Cake Baker

Barnes helps bring local kids cakes on their birthdays through Cake4Kids, a nonprofit.

Newsreview.com
By Steph Rodriguez
October 4, 2018

For many kids, birthdays are one day out of the year to feel special. Unfortunately, that’s not the reality for all. Today, 58 percent of the nation’s unsheltered homeless youth reside right here in the Golden State, according to a 2017 study by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. But there’s one program that aims to make birthdays memorable for everyone: Cake4Kids. This nonprofit currently operates in 10 California cities, working with 140 different agencies that service foster youth, immigrants, refugees and victims of sex-trafficking with one goal: gifting kids cakes on their birthdays. Sacramento ambassador, Mary Barnes, helped bring Cake4Kids to the area in July and delivered its first cake to a child in August. With 32-and-counting volunteer bakers, the program has delivered nearly two dozen cakes so far. Barnes says a simple cake is just one way to ensure a child’s birthday isn’t just another ordinary day, but one to always remember. SN&R spoke with Barnes about the memories Cake4Kids creates for children, and she even shares some nifty decorating tips for interested volunteers.

How were birthdays growing up for you?

I’m one of seven children, and we lived in North Sac. My mom still lives there, and like any working-class family, things were tight; especially with so many mouths to feed and so many birthdays. Our birthday was really the one day that we got to ourselves, where we didn’t have to do any chores, and we got to pick what we had for dinner. … It was one day out of the year that was just for us, where we got the attention from our family, and it was really special.

How has Cake4Kids made an impact on children’s lives here?

The children that we service come from very difficult backgrounds. When they tackle so much adversity, and they’ve had to go through so much … at least we’re providing a happy moment for them. Personally, it’s important to help those children feel important and included, and baking birthday cakes is the way we do that. We’ve had thank-yous, and stories received from guardians and parents of these children, and how not every year they get a birthday cake.

Where does the baking take place?

The volunteer bakers bake from home and use their supplies, and they deliver the cake within a two-hour window to the [partnering] agency. So you bake from home on your own schedule and pick the deliveries that work for you. The agencies we work with will send happy birthday cake requests to Cake4Kids online, and then our bakers sign up. We do expect some level of being able to decorate a cake. But volunteers volunteer their time, their supplies and skills, all from home.

What’s the most popular cake flavor or theme?

They vary because [of] the children we make them for: all types of boys, girls and all kinds of ages. We actually bake cakes for up to a 20-year-old because you can be in the foster system that long. The most popular theme this past year was superheroes, which beat out Frozen, our most popular theme for the past three years.

Do you have any nifty cake decorating tips?

Every Tuesday, I post a tip for our bakers [on our Facebook page]. Right now, all of our cakes have actually been vegan—all of them requested. So that’s been a challenge right from the beginning for our bakers. I recently posted a tip on how to use flax as a substitute for egg. Another helpful tip for the Sacramento heat: You can substitute butter (up to a half) with shortening to try and keep the buttercream from melting in the summer.

What’s the most amazing cake you’ve seen baked for a child so far?

Oh my gosh, some of them are just outstanding! Fabulous. I mean, you could purchase them. But all skill levels are welcome. Some of them are just amazing. One I just saw recently, the baker had an M&M’s bag floating in the air with M&M’s trailing down onto the cake. Amazing. Our bakers here in Sacramento are doing a fabulous job baking cakes.

What’s one memorable experience you’ve had with Cake4Kids so far?

Yesterday, I met with one of our partnering agencies, Opening Doors. They service immigrants, refugees and victims of human-trafficking. Unfortunately, because of the child’s privacy, we do not deliver to the child. We only deliver to the agency. So I don’t get to see the smiles on the children’s faces. … But I met with two case workers, and they deliver the cakes, and they just expressed over and over again how happy the children are to receive their happy birthday cake and just how special it is. … It’s why we’re doing this. Even though we don’t see the child’s smiles, they do. We give knowing that it will be appreciated. We don’t necessarily need the thanks or the smiles. We know at least we’re doing something to help that child feel special and loved.

—-

Link to article

Cake4Kids Now Baking in Sacramento

Carmichael Times
Story and photos by Trina L. Dotar
August 31, 2018

SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) - A baker’s dozen is thirteen as the cake enthusiasts who attended Cake4Kids’ orientation at Arcade library on Saturday, August 18 know. This second orientation in the Sacramento region for the Sunnyvale-based nonprofit drew bakers of all backgrounds and ages hailing from Carmichael, Arden Arcade, Rancho Cordova, Elk Grove, Rancho Murieta and beyond to learn more about Cake4Kids.

Mary Barnes, Cake4Kids’ Sacramento ambassador, led the hour long program. Barnes is a Sacramento native who first discovered the group when she lived in San Francisco. When she returned to Sacramento to pursue her legal career she wanted to bring the program with her and spoke about why she chose the eastern part of Sacramento.

“We thought about logistics,” she said, “An area where there were a good number of residential areas to pull volunteers from.”

This area, she explained, is close to freeways, homes, several nonprofits serving the demographic that Cake4Kids supports – homeless, recent immigrants, those in foster care, and victims of human trafficking – and it doesn’t cost money for parking so that left downtown and midtown out of the running.

“It is supported by Carmichael, east Sacramento, Sac State students, and ARC students. We thought it was a good location to start because of all of those factors.”

In addition to being the nonprofit’s Sacramento ambassador and tackling the job of finding volunteers, contacting agencies, and filling requests, Barnes, like other volunteers, works full time. She is also a volunteer baker and delivered the first cake in Sacramento to Opening Doors, an organization that serves individuals and families escaping human trafficking and refugees new to the area. She baked a vegan banana cake for a boy and decorated the cake with a racecar theme, complete with toy cars atop a protective layer of marzipan, and topped with vegan chocolate frosting.

“We have several requests for vegan cakes from this organization.  We’re challenging our bakers right away,” said Barnes, adding that all requests had been claimed and filled since the first orientation in July with twenty attendees.

In 2010, Cake4Kids was born. Only thirteen cakes were baked and delivered that year. Fast forward eight years when more than 10,000 cakes have been baked and delivered by volunteers as far south as San Diego. The nonprofit also serves Fresno, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Mateo, and five other California counties. Each cake is prepared from scratch especially for the child, decorated, packaged in a cake box, and delivered to the requesting agency. Although volunteers never meet the children, they often receive thanks from the children or, in some cases, from the parents or caregivers.

Before volunteer bakers can claim cakes, they must attend a mandatory orientation where they’ll learn about the organization, the demographic served, logistics, and resources. One of the volunteer benefits is that each baker may take cake decorating classes and be reimbursed for up to $100.00 each year. The ability to be a fabulous decorator is not a requirement, although some cakes are quite lavish. Each cake, she added, must have the child’s name.

During the orientation, Barnes said that 60,000 children are in foster care and only 5% between 15 and 18 years of age are adopted in California. Nearly 30 percent of children are homeless in the United States, and Barnes referenced the thousands of U.S. based human trafficking cases annually. These are some of the at-risk children Cake4Kids serves.

Julie Eades, the organization’s executive director, attended the inaugural orientation in July and said in a telephone interview that, “When you’re on or near the poverty line, a cake might not be the thing you choose to spend your money on. We talk about the fact that these children get moved from home to home and sometimes they don’t get any birthday celebrations. Not because nobody cares. It’s just one thing extra that people caring for them have to think about.”

Cake4Kids serves children and young adults up to the age of 24 and Eades said that some children as old as twenty have never had a cake before the one baked and delivered by a volunteer. She also said that the older children are extremely appreciative of the cake made just for them. Everyone should feel special one day a year.

Men, women, and children 16 years and older interested in baking cakes and bringing joy to a child should sign up to be a volunteer on the organization’s website. Sacramento orientations will be held through December at Arcade and Arden-Dimick libraries. The goal is to have 100 volunteers on board. On October 20 and December 22, orientations will be held at Arcade library on Marconi from 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. On November 10, Arden-Dimick will host from 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. The September orientation date and location has not been set. For additional information, visit www.cake4kids.org.

—-

Link to article or download the PDF