Birthday cakes are something that many of us take for granted. Unfortunately, there are children who have never experienced the joy of a birthday cake on their special day.
A newly launched nonprofit chapter is working hard to change this.
Cake4Kids opened a Loudoun chapter in August. The mission of Cake4Kids is to raise the self-esteem and confidence of these children by delivering a cake to them on their special day.
Dottie Swanson is the ambassador of the new Loudoun Chapter. She began as a volunteer baker with a Northern Virginia chapter and knew she wanted to do more.
“It saddened me that there are children who have never received a birthday cake,” she said.
For Swanson, cake baking provides the best of both worlds. “Combining my love of baking with giving back to underserved youth could not have been a better match.”
She said she can recall the feeling of her very first delivered cake and the joy she felt. “It was an anonymous, selfless act that brought me so much happiness knowing I made a child happy.”
Each cake is a one-of-a kind creation made by volunteers at no cost. Bakers of all skill levels are welcome to volunteer. “I love the creativity of the cake requests from the children – anything from sports to superheroes to unique requests for a dragon with teal flowers,” she said.
Swanson continues to work full-time for MuleSoft, a Salesforce Company, as a delivery director leading system integration programs. She said her work experience pairs well with baking.
“With my STEM background, I get to combine my love of math and science through recipes with my artistic skills involved in decorating and designing each cake” she said.
Become a cake baker
Currently, there are 17 volunteer bakers with the Loudoun Chapter. Anyone can submit to be a volunteer on the website or simply donate to the chapter to support its mission.
As of now, the chapter works with a few local-youth agencies. The chapter would like to expand partnerships to deliver custom cakes to underserved children in Loudoun.
Interested agencies are encouraged to contact Dottie by email: dottie@cake4kids.org.
