BE CAKE: CAKE4KIDS

By Marianne Weaver

Cake4Kids was founded in September 2010 in Sunnyvale, Calif., by Libby Gruender to provide free birthday cakes to foster children and at-risk youth in the San Francisco Bay Area. She had read an article about a young girl in foster care who burst into tears when her new foster mother presented her with a chocolate birthday cake. She wasn’t upset about the flavor but overwhelmed by the gesture: She had never had a birthday cake before.

Gruender resolved to make sure the children in her community had birthday cakes to celebrate.

In 2019, Mary Campbell read about Gruender’s work.

“It had never occurred to me that there are children who won’t get a cake for their birthday,” said Campbell in an interview on the organization’s website. “When I think of the struggles that some of these children deal with, I never once considered whether they would get a cake on their birthday. If we can help to provide a struggling child with a birthday cake, that is truly a gift for all those involved. Every child should feel loved and special on their birthday, just like I did.”

She made the call and established the first chapter outside of California. Today, there are 24 chapters and Campbell is the ambassador for Northern Virginia. “We were the first chapter outside of California, here in NoVA.”

Birthday Basics

The mission, she said, is simple: Bake and deliver birthday cakes to underserved children who might not otherwise receive one.