Volunteer bakers around the country are stirring the batter and spreading the icing to ensure that at-risk kids living in foster care, shelters, and group homes have a birthday or graduation cake.
While bakers need a good level of decorating skill to write on the cake, they don’t have to be pros, explained Alison Bakewell, executive director of Cake4Kids, a national nonprofit that matches bakers with underprivileged kids wanting a birthday cake. She says many volunteers are at home hobby bakers and there are a couple of retired pastry chefs. However, even a box cake with canned frosting can put a much-needed smile on a kid’s face.
“We have a lot of retirees finding great joy and delivering smiles to underserved children as volunteers,” says Bakewell of Cake4Kids. “One of our most prolific bakers is 83. This is a great opportunity for seniors.”
Since Cake4Kids was started in 2010, their bakers have made and delivered 61,000 cakes. The nonprofit organization now has over 5,000 volunteers spread over 27 chapters in 20 states and partners with 1,100 social service agencies.
The social service agency puts in a cake request with Cake4Kids and the kids select the flavor and the theme. They can ask for a cake, cupcakes, cookies or brownies. The bakers make the treat at home and then deliver it to the agency.
“Some of these children don’t have anything that’s their own, and when someone makes a cake for them, they can bring it into class like the other kids and this really boosts their self-esteem,” says Bakewell. “These kids have a difficult life and don’t have the typical support system. We want to make sure that people celebrate them on their birthday and they know people care.
“Samantha was new to my program,” continues Bakewell. “She didn’t believe that she was actually going to get the cupcakes she requested. She told me that people make promises all the time and never keep their word. When I took the cupcakes to her residence, she had a smile on her face and told me that she was overwhelmed because she never had someone care enough to make cupcakes just for her on her birthday and the way she wanted them.”
The bakers get a lot of personal satisfaction. Cathy Bevilacqua, 63, has volunteered with Cake4Kids for more than two years, baking and delivering 34 cakes/cupcakes during that time. “Over the years, I volunteered with many different organizations,” she says. “Cake4Kids has been the most fulfilling.
“I feel needed and I feel like I am making a difference for someone who cannot yet advocate for themselves. And it allows me to be creative, (designing the cakes or cupcakes), which is very important for me. My hope is that when each kiddo sees the cake that was made just for them, it brings them joy.”
“A lot of these kids have never had a birthday celebrated so we feel it’s a way to show that your birthday matters and we want to celebrate you,” says Amanda Fierro, East Coast Regional Director of another national nonprofit, For Goodness Cakes.
“A lot of these kids have never had a birthday celebrated so we feel it’s a way to show that your birthday matters and we want to celebrate you,” says Fierro. Formed in 2016, their bakers have made and delivered over 30,000 cakes to over 550 partner agencies. For Goodness Cakes, a nonprofit organization, now has over 30 chapters in 19 states and 8,000 volunteers.
“We have lot of seniors,” says Fierro. “We have a baker who’s 85 and wanted something fun to do after she retired.”
The bakers take a food and training course and an orientation before they get started. The agencies list information on the website of For Goodness Cakes about who needs a cake and when. The bakers pick a cake that fits their schedule and they deliver it to the agency. The information includes the kid’s name, the flavor or filling and frosting and theme that they request.
“One kid wanted dinosaurs, firetrucks, and cars,” says Fierro. “So the kid knows the cake was made just for them, with their wishes in mind.”
“Some of these kids have been bounced around,’” Fierro continues. “We partner with a lot of mom and child shelters. When you’re trying to make ends meet, baking a birthday cake is the last thing on your mind.”
Fierro noted their volunteers range from professional bakers to folks with minimum skills who open a box of cake mix and a can of icing.
Families impacted by the critical illness of a child can turn to Icing Smiles, a nonprofit organization that makes custom celebration cakes. Volunteers make cakes for the ill child or for a sibling. According to their website “This provides a temporary escape from worry and creates a positive memory during a difficult time.” The organization is based in all 50 states and has baked and delivered over 30,000 cakes and has over 13,000 volunteers.
Wanna Bake?
What with opportunities in every state to create a special cake and make a child smile, it’s time to get out those aprons and start baking. Just a few things to remember:
Be able to bake and deliver the cake to partner agencies during regular business hours, Monday–Friday
Follow the CDC, FDA, and USDA’s food safety guidance from FoodSafety.org: 4 Steps to Food Safety
- Make sure you can keep your ‘cake commitment.’ Many of these kids have been disappointed by adults – show them by your example that they are worth time, attention and care.
Interested in baking – and all things food? Join like-minded bakers, chefs and gourmets in the Senior Planet Community Foodie group. Details are here.
YOUR TURN
Are you a creative cake baker for family and friends? Share your proudest moments in the comments!
Kate Walter is the author of two memoirs: Behind the Mask: Living Alone in the Epicenter; and Looking for a Kiss: A Chronicle of Downtown Heartbreak and Healing. Her essays and opinion pieces have appeared in The New York Times, Newsday, New York Daily News, AM-NY, Next Avenue, The Advocate, The Village Sun and other outlets. She taught writing at CUNY and NYU for three decades and now works as a writing coach.
Photos: (top) Courtesy of For Goodness Cakes; (insets) Courtesy of Cake4Kids
Photo of Kate Walter by Su Zen
