The Power of Cake

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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Link to article

Cake4Kids Highlighted in Ezvid Wiki Video of Organizations Helping Improve the Lives of Homeless Youth

Thanks to Ezvid Wiki for highlighting Cake4Kids in their video “5 Organizations Helping Improve The Lives Of Homeless Kids”! Cake4Kids is #2, starting at 1:12 min: Watch the video

Cake4Kids: Baking for Good

The Sugar Association
March 2020

Allie started baking as a hobby four years ago and has recently found the most fulfilling part of using her skills is "delivering happiness” to kids in the form of a birthday cake they may not have otherwise had.

Cake4Kids was founded in Sunnyvale, CA, in 2010 by Libby Gruender to provide free birthday cakes to foster children and at-risk youth in the San Francisco Bay Area. What started as a grassroots effort with a few volunteers has turned into quite a robust operation with hundreds of volunteers baking over 3,000 cakes per year for youth across the country!

Allie DeNicuolo, who officially opened the Washington, D.C., chapter of Cake4Kids this month, is a self-taught baker. She started baking as a hobby four years ago and over the past year and a half has taken her skills to the next level, spending many hours practicing techniques learned through Instagram and YouTube.

The most fulfilling part of baking for Allie is “delivering happiness” in the form of something homemade and the reward that comes with seeing the smile on the recipient’s face.  Baking can bring such positive feelings in a time when we are bombarded with negative news.

Eight months ago, Allie responded to an ad for volunteers in Virginia to join Cake4Kids. She joined as a volunteer to make cakes for the agency to distribute to kids. For privacy reasons, volunteers don’t get to meet the children they bake for, however, Allie got feedback from the organizer for one of the first cakes she made. The cake had been delivered to a boy on his 8th birthday. He was very excited as it was his first birthday cake ever! It meant so much to Allie that just by doing something she loved she was able to really impact the life of a child, giving this little boy a bright spot amid his rough circumstances. Something so simple made him so happy!

It was clear to Allie the impact the organization has on the lives of these children, so she decided to get more involved. Fast forward to a few months later and Allie is officially opening the Washington D.C. chapter of the organization. The vulnerable children that receive these cakes are not just in big cities like D.C. “We tend to forget what is happening out in the rest of the world. No matter where you live, there is 100% a need in any area that has children in it. All we need is a volunteer who is looking to launch it. The Cake4Kids organization makes the rest of the process seamless and easy.”

Cake4Kids volunteers do not need to be professional or highly experienced bakers! Cake4Kids is also a great opportunity for those who are looking to expand on their baking skills and deliver something meaningful and delicious. As long as it’s baked with love, that is far more important than your ability to decorate!

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Link to article

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!

Cake4Kids received an award for Outstanding Community Contribution 2020 at the 55th Annual Murphy Awards Dinner on February 22, 2020 in Sunnyvale, CA

(Left to right) Keith Paulson, Claire Campodonico (Cake4Kids Volunteer), Russ Melton (Councilmember), and Julie Eades (Cake4Kids Executive Director) at the 55th Annual Murphy Awards Dinner on February 22, 2020 in Sunnyvale, CA

Russ Melton (Councilmember) and Julie Eades (Cake4Kids Executive Director) at the 55th Annual Murphy Awards Dinner on February 22, 2020 in Sunnyvale, CA

Keith Paulson and Claire Campodonico (Cake4Kids Volunteer) at the 55th Annual Murphy Awards Dinner on February 22, 2020 in Sunnyvale, CA

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.

Spreading Joy Through Baking

Candice Humphrey decorates a cake in her office's kitchen Sunday afternoon. Humphrey, of Bardstown, is the new Cakes4Kids ambassador for Kentucky's first chapter of the program that provides birthday cakes to children in need.

KACIE GOODE/The Kentucky Standard

Mary Beth Newton drops off a Cakes4Kids cake at the Nelson County Early Learning Family Resource Center Feb. 7. The cake was the first for the new program. The local chapter of Cakes4Kids was launched by Bardstown woman Candice Humphrey.

KACIE GOODE/The Kentucky Standard

The Kentucky Standard
By Kacie Goode
February 11, 2020 1:28 pm / Updated: February 11 4:10 pm)

Candice Humphrey believes every child deserves to feel special at least one day a year, regardless of financial or home circumstances. This is part of the reason she launched a local chapter — Kentucky’s first — of Cake4Kids, a program bringing together volunteer bakers to provide birthday cakes for at-risk children.

“I was actually looking for a charity for my attorneys to volunteer with when they were in California for a conference,” said Humphrey, a marketing and communications coordinator for McCoy, Hiestand & Smith, PLC. That is when she came across Cake4Kids and was immediately inspired by the opportunity. “I thought, ‘Wow, this is such an easy way for people to do great things for others.’”

The Cake4Kids project started in California in 2010 and has since formed chapters in California, Virginia and now Kentucky, with Humphrey adopting the role of Kentucky Cake4Kids Ambassador. Its mission is to bake and deliver personalized cakes to underserved kids in communities. 

“There are a lot of kids in Kentucky and around the world that don’t get a day to make them feel special,” Humphrey said. “Birthdays were always big for me, so I just wanted that for everybody else.” 

With no chapters available in the area, Humphrey decided to introduce one, and led the first local Cake4Kids orientation Jan. 25. There were 13 interested volunteers in attendance that day, an impressive number considering the orientations in California, where the program originates, averages about 15 participants, Humphrey said. The program has received enough local attention already that she has a second orientation planned for the end of the month. 

To participate in Cake4Kids, a volunteer baker must first go through orientation to learn more about the process. Then, the baker can sign up to fulfill cake orders. The bakers can choose how often they want to bake and which orders they want to fulfill, so the program works well with a variety of schedules and abilities.

While the cakes are expected to meet certain criteria and standards, Humphrey said, the majority of those who work with the program are home bakers, not professionals. 

“Anybody can help,” Humphrey said, adding it requires little money and time to create something that will have a big impact on a local child. 

Mary Beth Newton, a Nelson County teacher, was among those who attended the first orientation and was honored to fulfill the very first cake order for the chapter last week.

“It wasn’t hard at all, and I have a decently busy schedule, but there are ways you can plan around it,” Newton said of volunteering for the program. “It really wasn’t hard and it makes you feel good.”

She made a playful feminine cake for a teenage girl who has been battling serious health issues since birth. Newton said she spent hours practicing her icing rosettes to make the “girly, pink and purple” cake request perfect.

The teen’s family posted on social media after the delivery how thrilled they were with the outcome and how the program helped mark a cherished celebration.

For Newton, the opportunity was a rewarding one, and she was inspired to get involved in the program because she has witnessed firsthand the struggles some families and children deal with.

“I feel like the kids that are going to be impacted by this program are similar to the kids I work with at school,” Newton said. “I see a lot of things taken for granted that some people just don’t have — something as simple as a birthday cake.” 

Typically, the program partners with agencies that serve at-risk children, such as group homes, domestic violence and homeless shelters, and low-income housing areas. Currently, the local Cake4Kids chapter is collaborating with the Family Resource Center serving the Nelson County Early Learning Center and Boston School to identify children who could benefit from the program. Humphrey has reached out to other centers across both local school districts and will look at involving more agencies as the program evolves.

For Katrina Haydon, the FRYSC coordinator for Boston and the ELC, the project is a heartwarming idea.

“Some of the families that we work with, they don’t have that opportunity to give that extra little bit of special to the kids,” Haydon said, and by participating in Cake4Kids, her center can help make a child’s birthday or other celebration a little more special while taking the burden off of struggling families. 

The next orientation for Cake4Kids will be 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26, at the main branch of the Nelson County Public Library. Those interested in being a volunteer baker for Cake4Kids can sign up at cake4kids.org under the Volunteer Page.

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Link to article

Cake4Kids Makes Birthdays Special For Local Kids In Foster Care And Homeless Shelters

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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SDJA Students Give Back to Five Local Charities — Cake4Kids

[Cake4Kids San Diego Ambassador Alison Andreas, third from left, accepting a giant check from SJDA] SDJA presented checks to five local nonprofits. (Karen Billing)

Del Mar Times
By Karen Billing
January 23, 2019 6:50 a.m.

San Diego Jewish Academy students presented $7,066.15 to five local nonprofits at an assembly on Jan. 18. The gifts were the proceeds of the students’ Hanukkah charitable project that reflects the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam, which means “repairing the world.” Giant checks were given to Friendship Circle, Cake4Kids, Canine Companions for Independence, Make-A-Wish San Diego and Lev LaLev, a girls orphanage in Netanaya, Israel.

The SDJA project is known as Tamchui, which is an Aramaic word that means "community collection pot.” Parent volunteers Jacqueline Shapiro and Karin Zell helped organize the project to help provide students with a deeper experience when it comes to giving back and impacting their community.

For the Tamchui project, eighth grade students heard presentations from the five different charity organizations. The eighth graders were then in charge of spreading the word about each charity to the entire K-12 student body—speaking about how Friendship Circle offers fun and inclusive activities for kids and teens with special needs or how Cake4Kids provides birthday cakes for underprivileged children to help celebrate their special day.

All SDJA students then “donated” by placing poker chips in the fishbowl boxes of the charity of choice, in a room lined with festive posters of each charity.

The canine companion in attendance at the school assembly was especially popular with the kids and the nonprofit received the largest individual donation of $1,719.83.

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3 Creative Ways to Help Out Kids in Marin -- Bake with Cake4Kids!

There are a lot more ways to volunteer with the county's young people than you might think

Marin Magazine
Jessica Gliddon
January 7, 2020

Volunteering is one of those things that many of us feel like we should do, but many of us avoid. We already struggle to carve out time in our busy schedules. But what if we could volunteer in a way that we enjoyed? If you like spending time with kids, here are three ways you can help out. You might just end up doing something you like doing in the process.

BAKE A CAKE

If you enjoy baking, why not make it a way to give back? Cake4Kids gives youth who are homeless, exposed to violence or human trafficking, in foster care or living at the poverty line a chance to feel special. Serving 10 different counties in California, volunteers bake and deliver personalized birthday cakes, cupcakes, cookies, bars or brownies to underprivileged kids. Not a master baker? Doesn’t matter, Cake4Kids is happy to accept even the simplest of baked goods – what’s important is that it puts a smile on kids’ faces.

Be a Storyteller

Communicate the joy of reading to kids as a storytelling volunteer with the Marin County Free Library. Volunteers select books that encourage language-building play and read them to children in a laundromat for 20 to 30 minutes. Marin locations include The Wash Tub in Corte Madera and Speed-Dee Wash in San Anselmo.

Tutor Latino Youth

Specifically targeting the cycle of poverty faced by Latino immigrants and their families, Canal Alliance works to educate, empower and lend support to motivated kids. The after-school University Prep program assists 120 low-income Latino young people in completing a four-year college degree, with daily tutoring in core subjects and homework help. So far 100 percent of its graduates have enrolled in four-year state universities.

These San Diego Charities & Organizations Need Your Help in 2020 — Cake4Kids

By Mary Beth Abate
Updated November 22, 2019 10:53 a.m. EST

The holiday season has arrived, and with it comes the usual sense of goodwill and generosity that many of us feel towards our fellow humans. How can you hold on to that feeling all year long? It's simple: by giving your time to help those who are struggling with illiteracy, poverty, illness, who need someone to talk to or just a kind shoulder to lean on. Here in San Diego, sites like VolunteerMatch and HandsOn San Diego help you find volunteer opportunities that are the best fit for you. In that spirit, we’ve collected more than two dozen local nonprofits and organizations where you can provide help for your fellow San Diegans. And, remember, if you can’t commit your time, each of the sites below have a “Donate” button to make it easier than every to help someone in need.

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Bake for at-risk youth

Birthdays and cake go hand-in-hand, and every child should know the feeling of having a cake, cookies, cupcakes, or other sweet treats made just for them on their special day. Founder Libby Gruender began Cake4Kids in 2010 after being inspired by a news story about a young foster child’s emotional reaction to receiving her very first birthday cake. Now, Cake4Kids partners with over 140 agencies that support at-risk children and young adults (ages 1-24) who are in foster care, group homes, homeless shelters, transitional and low income housing, and domestic violence and human trafficking shelters. Volunteers purchase ingredients, bake and decorate the goodies in their own homes, and deliver them to an assigned agency, which ensures that it reaches the birthday child. You should be a reasonably decent baker and decorator and over 18, with a valid driver’s license and proof of auto insurance. Bakers 16-17 years old can participate as part of a parent/child team.

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Food, Fun, Information at WFCM Client Fair

The Connection Newspapers
By Bonnie Hobbs
October 17, 2019

As part of Hunger Action Month, Western Fairfax Christian Ministries (WFCM) held a Client Fair on Saturday, Sept. 28. More than 30 of the families it serves attended and were greeted with a variety of food and information.

Partners participating in the fair included: Girls on the Run NOVA, Cake4Kids, Department of Family Services, La Cocina VA and United HealthCare.

The event included garden talks showing attendees how to make a healthy bean salad and how to make pickles. Afterward, the attendees enjoyed samples.

Gifts for clients included: Breakfast bags for children from NOVEC HELPS; energy-efficiency kits from Dominion Energy; gift cards from Chick-fil-A in Sully Plaza; pumpkin bread from La Cocina VA; cupcakes from CAKE4KIDS; personal-care kits for men, women, children and babies from a local church; and shirts from Girls on the Run NOVA.

Emma Chernisky, a Girl Scout who’s creating a recipe book for WFCM clients as part of her Gold Award project, was on hand providing food samples. “I really enjoyed participating in this event,” she said. “It was especially great to see people coming back for seconds and taking recipe cards to make the dishes at home.”

“CAKE4KIDS Is very excited to be in Fairfax County bringing cakes to deserving children,” said Mary Campbell, Cake4Kids Fairfax County ambassador. “Our chapter opened May 22, and we’ve delivered more than 50 cakes. We’re looking forward to baking many more.”

Also pleased to participate was La Cocina VA. According to its programs coordinator, Paloma Martinez, “We’re a nonprofit that uses the power of food to create socioeconomic development in marginalized communities.”

WFCM Executive Director Harmonie Taddeo was happy, as well, with the success of this event.

“It was wonderful to offer this Client Fair in partnership with several local businesses and nonprofits as part of Hunger Action Month,” she said. “Food Pantry Director Pamela Montesinos carried out her vision for this event with cooking demonstrations, great cost-saving information about energy, medical and food programs, and special treats for the families that attended. We look forward to building on this event in the future to continue to provide services to our clients that will help their families with finances and food security.”

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Link to full article

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 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/.

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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.

Cake4Kids Makes Birthday Cake Wishes Come True for Disadvantaged Youth

A pink and blue red velvet sparkle cake that writer Katie Lauter made as a volunteer for Cake4Kids. Photo: Katie Lauter

This chocolate Transformers cake took three hours to decorate, but Lauter says it was time well spent. Photo: Katie Lauter

Cake4Kids volunteer baker Erika created these OKC Thunder basketball brownies for a child named Ramone. Photo: Cake4Kids

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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Sharing the Spirit: Napan bakes cakes and cupcakes so kids can enjoy birthdays, holidays

Amanda Kimbrough puts the finishing touches on some Harry Potter-themed cupcakes for a local foster child through the nonprofit Cakes4Kids, which provides cakes or cupcakes for foster children who might otherwise not get the birthday treat. (J.L. Sousa, Register)

Some of the cupcake decorations that Amanda Kimbrough used as she put the finishing touches on Harry Potter-themed cupcakes for a local foster child. She works through the nonprofit Cakes4Kids. (J.L. Sousa, Register)

Napa Valley Register
By Jennifer Huffman
December 26, 2018

A child without a birthday cake sounds absolutely awful.

Napa resident Amanda Kimbrough agrees 100 percent.

“I can’t imagine having my kids in that situation,” she said. “It would be heartbreaking.”

A busy mom of three (ages 4, 3 and 8 months), Kimbrough finds time to volunteer for a Sunnyvale-based nonprofit called Cake4Kids.

Cake4Kids bakes and delivers custom birthday cakes to underprivileged children such as those in foster care or homeless families.

Kimbrough got connected with Cake4Kids earlier this year after Valerie Dexter, the Napa Ambassador for Cake4Kids, asked her to consider baking for the group.

“I thought it sounded like a great organization because it’s all for the kids,” Kimbrough said.

Plus, she likes to bake.

So far, Kimbrough has made a number of treats for local Cakes4Kids recipients such as a tractor-themed cake, a doughnut cake and rubber ducky-themed cupcakes.

Next is Harry Potter cupcakes for a teenager, she said.

To protect the privacy of those she’s baking for, Kimbrough never knows who the cakes are for. She drops them off at the agency that requests the treats.

 Dexter said that Cake4Kids currently works with several local agencies, including Lilliput Families, Abode Services, Napa County Foster and Family Care Association, Napa NEWS, Aldea Children and Family Services and Rainbow House.

 “You just know it’s going to a good place,” said Kimbrough. It’s heartwarming to imagine the child’s reaction to the cakes she makes, she said.

 This Napa woman said that the amount of time she spends on each baking project depends on a lot of things.

 “Usually I’ll start it a couple days ahead of time,” she said. Between baking and decorating, she might spend up to 10 hours on each project.

 “That’s just because I really like to add details to it,” Kimbrough said. “I’m kind of a perfectionist.”

Kimbrough said Cake4Kids volunteers don’t have to be experts. Anyone is welcome to sign up to help bake.

According to Dexter, Cake4Kids has been operating in the Bay Area since 2008. Napa Cake4Kids volunteers delivered their first cake this past April. So far, 29 Napa area bakers have delivered 54 cakes, cupcakes or cookie orders for birthdays as well as Halloween and other seasonal parties.

“I’m hoping that more people get involved,” Kimbrough said. “This is something that is needed here.”

She had this advice for those who might be considering volunteering in their community: “Find something that works for you,” said Kimbrough. “Every little thing counts, even if it’s a small contribution.”

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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.

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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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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.

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