Nonprofit makes custom cakes for kids who aren’t able to have a treat on their birthdays

Published

3 years ago

August 3, 2021

Cakes4Kids bakes pretty custom birthday cakes for underserved children.
The nonprofit aims to make every child feel special and loved, especially on their birthdays.
These special cakes make the little ones beam with joy!

Many kids don’t get to experience being special on their birthday, or having a treat on that day, and this is something that drives Cakes4Kids to do what they do.

A nonprofit, Cakes4Kids recognized that low-income household children, or kids with no home at all, or those that are in foster care rarely get to enjoy their own birthdays. So, to help every child feel loved, especially on their special day, Cakes4Kids creates custom cakes for the underserved children with the help of volunteers.

The organization was founded in 2010 by Libby Gruender of Sunnyvale, California. To date, it has expanded to 11 states, including its newest chapter in northern Utah.

Cakes4Kids ties up with low-income-after-school-program organizers and foster homes in fulfilling its mission. Utah chapter ambassador Becky Carroll, for example, works with agencies taking care of these children to give them what they exactly want. And Cakes4Kids bakers would always give their best to create pretty custom treats.

“I think that, as adults, we often don’t enjoy celebrating our birthday as much,” Becky said. “We forget that it’s a really important thing for kids, and especially kids who are in difficult situations.”

Cakes are being dropped off at the agencies by volunteers, who aren’t able to meet the kids, though, for privacy reasons. However, seeing the excitement of the caseworkers and the photos of the beaming children with their cakes is enough to make them feel they’re doing the right thing.

“Their birthdays can be forgotten or just totally ignored,” Becky said, “and so to honor them with something that they specifically chose — and we always put their name on the cake — I think it just helps to help them have a special day and a happy memory around birthdays, rather than just being in a shelter and having it be forgotten.”