Sweet treats to fight cancer

Her family touched by cancer, this young baker is making a difference for others.

She is only 12 years old, but Dagny Jerles has already founded DagnysCakePlace, an Instagram-based baking venture that donates all its proceeds to help Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center fight cancer.

“I’ve always loved baking,” Dagny said. “It became a passion for me when the pandemic hit because I was stuck in the house.”

DagnysCakePlace began last year as her sixth-grade project at Miami Country Day School. Although the school project ended, Dagny has continued to run the charity as her own passion project.

“My school assigned a Genius Project, which is basically a passion project that helps people,” Dagny said. “Since I like to bake, I decided to start a bakery and donate the proceeds to Sylvester because my aunt was treated there.”

Dagny’s aunt, Stephanie Dean-Kluger, lost a battle with neuroendocrine cancer in April 2020.

DagnysCakePlace is run through an Instagram page that accepts orders for specific holiday events, such as Rosh Hashanah, for which she created a honey cake with apples. Dagny then bakes the orders, and her parents deliver the baked goods.

“I’ve been so proud and impressed with how she has run with this,” said Lisa Jerles, Dagny’s mom and delivery driver. “We deliver the cakes, but every other part of this project is fully run by her.”

In its first year, DagnysCakePlace made $350 in sales, and this year, Dagny’s baking has led to more than $3,000 being donated to Sylvester. She has also set up a UCare page so the proceeds from the orders can go directly to the cancer center.

“My family is always volunteering, and it inspired me to help,” Dagny said. “My grandparents, Amy Dean and Alan Kluger, and my uncle Jesse all love my cake business and even help me sell cakes to their friends.”

“I’m extremely proud of Dagny for taking on a project like this and sticking with it,” said Alan Kluger, founding partner at Kluger, Kaplan, Silverman, Katzen & Levine, P.L., co-founder of the Dean-Kluger Charitable Foundation and a member of the Sylvester Board of Overseers. “My wife and I have always tried to model the importance of philanthropy and generosity to our children and grandchildren. It is wonderful to see Dagny giving back at such a young age.”

Dagny Jerles

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