Cake4Kids is Serving Up Joy

This story is a part of the Solutions Journalism Network Media Challenge, where we report on solutions to mental health issues within the juvenile justice and foster care systems.

BRISTOL, RI | Many youth in the foster care system lack consistent support and are often moved around from home to home. Their birthdays can often be overlooked entirely, or pushed to the side due to a lack of resources, time, or support.

The youth’s caseworker explained that she was absolutely ecstatic and that the cake, the recognition of her birthday, changed her life for the better. “You could tell she felt so seen and cared for through the evident time and effort you poured into making the cake special for her.” 

That is exactly what programs such as Cake4Kids accomplishes. Custom, home-baked cakes where the youth controls exactly what that looks like for them.

“The cakes do so much for these kids,” said Alison Bakewell, Executive Director of Cake4Kids. “It tells them you’re important, you matter, and we wanna celebrate you.”

The Problem
Within the foster care system, many children experience instability and trauma due to the constant changing of environments, lack of support, and differing experiences from their peers. According to The Annie E. Casey Foundation nearly 40% of foster youth experience more than two placements a year. Additionally, 90% of foster children are exposed to maltreatment prior to entering the system. This instability has the potential to cause severe disruption, which can eventually lead to academic, emotional, and behavioral difficulties.

Given the lack of support and resources that foster youth do not have at their disposal, they miss key milestone gatherings such as birthdays, graduations, proms, reunifications, and more. Celebrations for foster care youth are often complicated by feelings of separation, grief, or longing for their biological families, especially during birthdays and holidays. On average, youth in foster care will spend at least two birthdays in the system according to The Pew Charitable Trusts. These days can often feel invisible for those in care, often marked by a lack of traditional celebrations, such as a card or a present.

With this, celebrations are extremely important and have shown to have favorable outcomes. Neuroscientists have proven that celebrations have positive impacts on brains as they release oxytocin, dopamine, and endorphins. These gatherings are crucial as they allow children to feel valued – that feeling of care and acceptance releases the healthy chemicals that benefit mental health.Without them, there is an emotional impact on the foster youth, on top of all the other trauma they have faced during their time in the system. It heightens feelings of invisibility, loneliness, and lack of belonging that they often experience, with studies noting that being in the system during holidays or times of celebration can trigger feelings of resentment and sadness.

The Response
While it might feel small, birthdays or other celebrations are extremely important to the emotional development of all youth, foster care youth especially due to the unstable situations that they are placed in. Without these celebrations, there can be a negative effect on their mental health. According to Optimum Health Institute, the act of celebrating can help to counteract negative emotions and stress. Celebrating creates a mental space for joy and relaxation and regular gatherings, even minor ones, can act as a buffer against burnout and depression. However, there are organizations working to combat this issue and provide at-risk, underserved, and foster youth with a cake on their special day.

Cake4Kids is a nationwide non-profit that mobilizes volunteers to bake and deliver free, custom-baked goods. They provide custom birthday cakes, custom cupcakes, graduation cakes, and cakes for special occasions. For youth who are facing difficult circumstances such as homelessness, food insecurity, time in the foster care system, or recovering from domestic violence, Cake4Kids aids in creating positive childhood experiences that help youth feel whole and supported as they cope with trauma. It is a small gesture that addresses a far greater problem, allowing kids to feel a sense of normalcy in their lives.

Since Cake4Kids was created in 2010, its bakers have delivered over 61,000 cakes, spread over 27 chapters across 20 states, partnering with 1,100 social services agencies. In a single year, they had 14,000 cake requests, over 6,000 volunteer bakers, and over 2,000 caseworker partners. “We’re partnering with agencies across the United States and working with thousands of caseworkers throughout the year to make sure we’re supporting as many youth as possible,” according to the Cake4Kids website.

All of their cakes include the ideas of the children involved, as they have complete control over how it looks throughout the design process and the final result. “The kids’ requests can be specific or general,” said Bakewell. “It is entirely in their hands.” For example, a 12 year old’s cake involved the paintbrushes that were used to decorate the cake, and she was able to keep those and use them.

How it works
The program is entirely volunteer-based. Volunteers have a choice of which baking requests they take on, then bake the goods in their own homes. Following this, they deliver it to the organization’s partner agencies, or to the youth’s social worker, who delivers it to them. Cake4Kids gets valuable feedback on the cake and the youth’s experience through case workers or families.

Anyone who meets the organization’s requirements across any of the chapters in the United States is eligible to become a volunteer. You must be 18 or older to volunteer independently, or 16 or older to volunteer with an adult. One must attend a one-time volunteer orientation session and pass a short quiz. Those who volunteer are asked to be skilled in baking with decorating skills, be able to deliver baked goods to Cake4Kids partner agencies, and are required to follow the CDC, FDA, and USDA’s food safety guidance.

What makes Cake4Kids an enticing volunteer project is that volunteers set their own pace and bake whenever they can. “The bakers get to choose what cake they wanna bake,” said Bakewell. “They can sign up for any request.” Whether you bake once a year or once a month, volunteers are able to choose the cake requests that they are comfortable with and that work with their schedule.

Evidence
While the organization has data regarding the actual cakes and their partners, there is no empirical data from Cake4Kids that directly measures the program’s impact on youth outcomes. They provide statistics on the amount of cakes distributed and their volunteers, but there is no quantitative data that assesses the youths’ well-being. This limits the evaluation of the effectiveness of Cake4Kids beyond the emotional experiences.

Despite these limits on data, there are a multitude of testimonials demonstrating the impact that Cake4Kids has had on the lives of many youth, and the emotional and social benefits from the program. When the youth’s caseworkers describe their experience, they highlight how the customizability of the cakes make the youth excited and feel special. “Your generosity and kindness brought immense joy to him on his special day,” said a caseworker for a 5 year old. “Seriously, the cake was out of this world! Your generosity in making his day special means the world to him (and me!),” said another. 

Some caseworkers also explain specifics of what these youth have gone through, and how something so small as a customized baked good helps to distract and overcome their obstacles. “You truly changed her life for the better. It was the first birthday cake she ever had, and she was absolutely ecstatic,” said a caseworker for youth aged 12. “You can tell she felt so seen and cared for through the evident time and effort you poured into making the cake special for her.”

Experts say that family-oriented celebrations can offer psychological benefits such as fostering emotional well-being and strengthening family bonds. Specifically, counselling psychologist Dr. Ritika Suk Birah emphasizes that even though the youth may not remember the celebration specifically, the emotional atmosphere during the celebration can be impactful. Dr.Birah also advises that celebration focuses on meaningful, intimate moments that foster a child’s sense of belonging and self-worth.

“I understand that your bakers could simply opt to present our families with ‘generic’ cakes, the fact that they take their time to bake their cakes tailored to the children’s likes and interests, is so significant,” said a caseworker. “Your work is so impactful and meaningful.”

Limitations
While this program has many benefits, there are structural, financial, and legal barriers that stand in the way.

Cake4Kids does not directly address housing, education, or employment issues.They address a valuable, important, and often overlooked side of the foster care system. Their cakes provide comfort and celebration.

Additionally, Cake4kids relies primarily on volunteers and donations. This can lead to inconsistencies in support from the community, which can sometimes fall short. This creates an economic barrier, as the organization relies primarily on community donations. Due to their lack of data collection, Cake4Kids cannot capitalize on reporting volunteer hours and donations to receive grants. Their lack of data collection is because of the lack of time, support, and resources to be able to do so.

Lastly, some areas have strict laws on food regulation, home-bake foods are not legally allowed to be served to the public if the kitchen cannot be inspected. Due to this, it limits the geographical reach of the organization as a whole.

Implications
Cake4Kids is an organization that provides community-driven care, which is a person-centered, local approach where health services and social support are delivered within a person’s community to promote independence. This bridges gaps between formal systems and residents by addressing social aspects of health.. The program runs at a low cost because it relies primarily on volunteers and donations. Because of that, its delivery is localized and it serves kids regardless of income.While barriers exist in the geographic reach and there are gaps in the financial side, the positive impacts seem to outmatch the difficulties.

While there is no current chapter in Rhode Island, this organization is constantly expanding into other states across the country when an opportunity arises. They have a chapter in the Greater Boston area, and are opening one in Vermont soon, according to Bakewell.

Based on all of its success, similar models could be applied as this opens up the door to endless opportunities to branch out beyond just baked goods. There could be holiday gifts, school supplies, cultural celebrations, and so much more. Some programs that align with this are Globe Santa or For Goodness Cakes, which also provide foster youth with fun and meaningful goodies.

Cake4Kids opens the door for aid aimed at providing dignity and emotional benefits, as opposed to purely material support. These cakes are more than just a treat for the youth. Instead, it provides them with normalcy that they often lack when in the system, and that is so crucial.

“I understand that your bakers could simply opt to present our families with ‘generic’ cakes, the fact that they take their time to bake their cakes tailored to the children’s likes and interests, is so significant,” said a caseworker. “Your work is so impactful and meaningful.”

Developing Self-Worth
For youth who had never received a birthday cake up until their first encounter with Cake4Kids, this program shines a celebratory light on their lives. They have complete control over the cake and its design, making something that is completely their own, and more importantly completely about and for them. It teaches the youth in their peak development what it’s like to be taken care of, and to be appreciated and celebrated.

“If you feel cared about, you will also care about yourself,” said Bakewell. 

By: Kate Tortolini, Macayla M. McDonald, and Rachel Fortuna Cabral