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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.