Love baking? Interested in kid-friendly volunteering? Learn how you and your kids can celebrate local children in foster care through For Goodness Cakes.
Over the course of the pandemic, so many families started baking again or for the first time. Many of us binge-watchedThe Great British Baking Show and spent hours in the kitchen making donuts, pies, cakes and all sorts of other high-calorie, mood-boosting treats.
If you upped your baking game during lockdown, you may want to consider joining the Sprinkle Squad, a volunteer team of bakers with For Goodness Cakes, an organization that hand-delivers birthday cakes to children in foster care and at-risk youth on their special days.
Best part? Your kids can help, too! Just complete the online food safety training, choose a cake request from the Sprinkle Squad calendar, bake with your kids, and deliver to For Goodness Cakes. Masks are required during baking, despite the mask mandate being lifted, as many of the children receiving cakes are immunocompromised.
Amanda Crandall, a local Sprinkle Squad baker, says, “It is difficult to find a place where younger kids can play an active role [in volunteering]. I was thrilled to find For Goodness Cakes, because they encourage participation from both parents and children.” Crandall and her children had a blast baking a “The Incredible Hulk” birthday cake for a six-year-old in foster care.
For Goodness Cakes works with many Portland organizations, including Boys & Girls Aid, a nonprofit serving local children since 1885. “For Goodness Cakes really helps show our youth that they matter,” says Katie MacDonald, Donor Relations Manager at Boys & Girls Aid. “Already we have been able to gift more than 10 cakes across our programs since they reached out to us … each time a For Goodness Cakes Volunteer has gone above and beyond to show them that they hear them, see them, and celebrate them.” Cake recipients are able to make specific requests for flavor, color and theme, which makes the confections even more meaningful to each child.
So put all those baking show hours to good use! Whip out the aprons and make something with love for local youth.
Ready to sign up? Register for orientation here.
Hate baking but love this idea? You can donate to the cause instead. And check out even more kid-friendly volunteer opportunities, no whisking required.
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