Non-Profit Bakes for Children Who Have Never Had Birthday Cakes
By Christina Tetreault
July 7, 2017 7:16 p.m. PDT (Updated: July 7, 2017 7:16 p.m. PDT)
4-year-olds Aubree and Asia may have never heard the their names in the song “Happy Birthday,” or have never taken a big bite of their own brightly colored personalized birthday cake, but now they have.
Ballerina theme for Asia, and Minnie Mouse for Aubree.
All made possible by Cake4Kids, a San Francisco based non-profit’s new Fresno chapter. Cake4Kids provides personalized birthday cakes for children in the foster care system and adoption process. Fresno’s Cake4Kids Ambassador and Baker Megan Mitsuoka pours her heart into each cake.
“Honestly it’s all about the kids. You want to make them feel special,” she said.
Mitsuoka said Cake4Kids gives foster care and newly adopted children something that’s easily taken for granted by others.
“A really great way to make the kids feel special on their birthday. It let’s them know someone out there is thinking of them on their special day,” she said.
In just five months they have provided over 50 cakes to local foster care children in the Central Valley.
NorthStar Family Center CEO Mary Dela Torre said a simple something sweet helps ease kids into their new life.
“It’s like ‘oh wow, I am really special today.’ It takes them out of that foster child world sets them in a real normal life,” she said.
For Aubree and Asia, the day they were given their cakes was all about them celebrating a new year and new families.
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