For Goodness Cakes serves up special made birthday, graduation, and other cakes for young people who may not have ever had one.
Leslie Leuenhagen2024-07-24T13:50:07+00:00For Goodness Cakes serves up special made birthday, graduation, and other cakes for young people who may not have ever had one.
Austin got a little sweeter in 2021 when For Goodness Cakes, an organization that delivers birthday, graduation, and other special event cakes and cupcakes to agencies who work with children, opened an Austin chapter. Under the leadership of co-leaders Ashley Presson and Alicia Gacharna the Austin Chapter spends over 600 hours a year baking, decorating, and delivering that special feeling that only a specially made cake can.
A standout moment for the organization took place in December of 2023 when one of the local CARY (Council on At-Risk Youth) programs requested cookies for kids of the program to decorate. Many of the children in the program had never been offered an opportunity to decorate holiday cookies before, so the volunteers of For Goodness Cakes started whipping up batches of cookies as well as red, green, and white icing. They managed to deliver 13 dozen cookies for holiday decoration purposes on top of the 25 dozen cupcakes and 3 birthday cakes also scheduled for December and brought holiday cheer to kids who needed it most.
The main philanthropic mission of the organization is to provide cakes/cupcakes to agencies free of expense as some agencies may not have the funds to purchase these sweet treats for the youth they serve. Rather than have children go without a baked good to mark special occasions or have agencies divert much needed funds, For Goodness Cakes steps in to make up the difference.
“It’s so much more than just receiving a cake,” says Alicia, “It sends the message that someone in their community cares about them and believes they deserve to be celebrated.
For Goodness Cakes continues to partner with 501(c)3 certified charities who work with youth experiencing adversity from ages 1 to 27 in the Austin area. They support CARY, Hope Alliance, Out Youth, Austin Angels, SAFE Austin, the YMCA, and many other organizations.