How Neighborhood Bakers Change Lives with For Goodness Cakes
There is something powerful about the smell of a cake baking in the oven: warm, sweet, comforting. For Teanna, a home baker in Los Angeles, it had always been a love language. She baked for coworkers on their birthdays, surprised friends with holiday cupcakes, and spent weekends experimenting with buttercream designs just for fun. But it was not until she stumbled across For Goodness Cakes that she realized her hobby could become something far more meaningful.
“I saw a post about a charity that matched bakers with kids in foster care,” she said. “And I just kept thinking – what if this one cake is the only thing that makes that child feel seen this year?”
That night, Teanna signed up for the Sprinkle Squad, the team of volunteer bakers that supports For Goodness Cakes on their mission. She was approved and took on the role of a lifetime.
Want to turn your bakes into something beautiful? Join the Sprinkle Squad in your city, and help For Goodness Cakes bring some joy to youth in need.
Becoming Part of the Sprinkle Squad
After completing the online orientation, Teanna got access to the LA chapter’s cake calendar. Volunteers choose a specific day and cake request: from birthday themes to favorite colors or characters. A few weeks later, she claimed her first bake – a chocolate cake with blue frosting for a young man in foster care, celebrating his twelfth birthday.
She spent two days sketching designs and sourcing ingredients. On the morning of the delivery, she added final piping details and carefully wrote the child’s name in his favorite color. It was the kind of thing Teanna had done dozens of times, but this time, it felt different: “This one wasn’t for a friend or a colleague. It was for a kid I would never meet, but whose day I knew I could make better,” she said.
Packaging that Protects the Moment
Transporting a homemade cake across Los Angeles in May is no small feat. Teanna tucked her cake into a sturdy box from W Packaging, a local packaging company that supports For Goodness Cakes. The box’s snug fit and firm walls protected the frosting and delicate design throughout the drive to the nonprofit’s drop-off site.
“There is always this worry, like what if it tips, what if the name smudges?” Teanna said. “I needed the cake to arrive the way I planned it and made it: perfect. That box from W Packaging gave me peace of mind.”
Thanks to W Packaging, her cake made it from her kitchen to the nonprofit’s partner agency, and then to a foster home in South LA, where it became the centerpiece of a very special birthday.
One Moment That Matters
Later that week, Teanna received a short message through the volunteer portal. It included a quote from the boy’s case worker: “He was on cloud nine about it. He is usually very shy, but he was all into the other kids gushing over his cake. That is a huge step for him to get so far out of his comfort zone!”
For Teanna, that message was everything. “I have baked a lot of cakes,” she said, “but I think this one mattered the most.”
From Kitchen to Celebration
Teanna’s story is just one of thousands unfolding across the country, but in Los Angeles, For Goodness Cakes is growing – one baker, one birthday, one cake at a time. The Sprinkle Squad volunteers are turning frosting and flour into moments of hope and building self-worth for youth who need it most. And with the help of trusted bakery packaging, their work arrives safely and beautifully, every time. With the right partners, anything is possible – from packaging to cakes to kindness. Become a volunteer baker for For Goodness Cakes and make your next bake the one they will never forget
