Volunteer-made cakes brighten birthdays

Austinites looking to hone their culinary skills, master the art of dessert decorating and give back to their community can apply to help Bake A Wish.

The local network of volunteers, founded by Circle C resident Karen Nichols, bakes cakes for Austin children and adults in need.

Nichols, president of Bake A Wish's board of directors, said the group takes requests for cakes from nonprofit organizations such as domestic violence shelters, and volunteers check an online spreadsheet to see the requests.

Each recipient chooses the flavor and decorations, Nichols said. In some cases, no one has ever asked the child's opinion on anything, so they sometimes have no idea what they want or are not immediately comfortable sharing.

"Now they get really excited," she said. "They get to dream up whatever they want, and they get exactly what they want."

Design requests range from superhero and princess cakes to Justin Bieber tributes, she said. Volunteers buy supplies, bake the cake, decorate it and deliver it to the agency in need.

Director Madelyn Varella said the group gives bakers an opportunity to improve their abilities and practice for competitions, but most volunteers—including her—have no professional baking experience.

Varella, also a Circle C resident, said she was looking for service opportunities when she joined the organization a few years ago.

"The first cake that I delivered, I was fortunate enough to meet the kid," she said, noting volunteers rarely meet cake recipients for security reasons. "I found out that ... he had a really hard week, and this Spider-Man cake was the thing he was most looking forward to. After that, I was hooked."

Though the organization primarily serves organizations that cater to children and youth, it recently expanded its mission to also serve the elderly and disabled in affordable housing communities.

"Many times even though these are not children, these are still people who ... don't have someone in their life to help them celebrate," Varella said.

Nichols noted Bake A Wish distributes supplies received in donation drives to take some of the financial burden off volunteers, and the organization is always looking for new volunteers to keep the cakes coming.

"Since we have no paid positions and minimal overhead expenses, that allows us to put all [donations] directly into the beneficiaries," she said.

Making wishes come true

Most of Bake A Wish's volunteers have full-time jobs and families, but the list also includes homemakers and retirees, Director Madelyn Varella said. A few professional bakers also help the organization bring its cakes to nonprofits in need throughout Austin.

Ways to help:

• Volunteers can apply to help with logistics or make cakes. No formal experience is necessary, but cake bakers must be able to make buttercream frosting, use a pastry bag to pipe a simple border, write legibly on a cake and maintain requirements for food safety.
• Professional bakers can make cakes and host free classes for new volunteers to boost their baking and decorating skills.
• Businesses can host donation drives to collect supplies such as sugar, flour and fondant.
• Nonprofits can submit requests for cakes online and ask recipients to be specific about requests, if possible—The sky's the limit, Nichols said, noting one child asked for a "Magic School Bus" cake featuring a rainbow, a unicorn and Hannah Montana as the driver.
• Donors can sponsor cakes, make monetary donations, or provide supplies or gift cards to supply stores.

Source: Bake A Wish

History

In 2009 Karen Nichols founded an Austin chapter of Free Cakes for Kids, a Georgia-based nonprofit providing cakes to children who would not otherwise receive one.

In 2011 Nichols incorporated the organization, changed the name to Bake A Wish and it secured 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.

Today it serves nonprofits in Austin, Buda, Cedar Park, Round Rock and Leander.

Source: Bake A Wish

Bake A Wish, P. O. Box 91351, Austin, Texas 78709, www.bakeawishaustin.org, [email protected]