By WJLA

March 27, 2023

Thousands of children around the DMV experience their birthdays without a birthday cake. In fact, some say they have never received one. That's why one Fairfax county nonprofit called Cake4Kids is working to change that.

It's something you might not think of, but unfortunately it happens all the time.

"It never occurred to me that children go without a birthday cake and that broke my heart," said Mary Campbell, owner of nonprofit Cake4Kids. "It's homeless children, it's children in domestic violence shelters, it's foster children, it's children in immigration services, and it's children with free and reduced lunch. We do a lot of Title I schools."

That's why Campbell is making a difference in her Fairfax County kitchen through her nonprofit.

"I thought, 'How would I feel if it was my child's birthday and I wasn't able to provide something?' So I wanted to be able to bring something here," Campbell said.

She does that with the help of 650 local volunteer bakers – many who say they aren't really bakers at all.

Patt Rossini, a volunteer said she had the chance to bake for a kid who has never had a cake before.

"It was a last-minute request for a Fort Nite cake, and later I got a 'thank you' picture with the child and that killed me," Rossini said.

7News and Easterns Automotive Group were inspired by Cake4Kids' mission and decided to surprise the nonprofit with a 7News Helping Hand.

"Cake4Kids is an amazing organization. You guys do something that many people take for granted by supporting those kids who might not have a cake for their birthday," said Joel Bassam from Easterns Automotive Group. "Using that secret ingredient of baking extra love into it and then delivering it to their home is an amazing way to support the community. We want to help you guys continue to do that by donating $2,200 so you can continue baking all of those cakes across the DMV."

Campbell was extremely grateful for the surprise donation. She says everything (and everyone) helps their goal of giving kids cakes on their birthdays a success.

"I say it all of the time, I am a small part of it," Campbell said. "It's all of us and everybody cares and that's the beauty of it."