No birthday would be complete without a birthday cake.
But unfortunately those under 360 Youth Services care, they may not have gotten to enjoy what we take for granted.
“This is a group of youths from 18-24 that have had problems in their lives and some aren’t living at home anymore and they’ve never had a homemade birthday cake and that just broke my heart,” said Carolyn Klein, chairperson of the Naperville Newcomers and Neighbors Club Bakers Guild.
“I’ve been baking cakes since my kids were little and for every niece and nephew and I would just love to bake birthday cakes for this group of kids,” she explained.
So Carolyn started baking a cake for 360 Youth Services once a month to celebrate those who had birthdays.
And she used her role as chairperson of the NNNC Bakers Guild to recruit others to the cause.
This month, Abby Adams was the baker in charge, creating a fall-themed “pull apart cupcake cake” – a cake made up of individual cupcakes, but decorated like a normal cake.
“To keep the frosting from seeping through I’m placing marshmallows between all of the cupcakes to give one smooth surface to decorate on,” said Adams.
After decorating the cake with a fall theme and of course, writing happy birthday to Tiffany and Sheldon, it was off to 360 Youth Services’ monthly meeting to deliver the goods – or in this case, the goodies.
“It’s a small act of kindness that goes a long way. Our residents remember it, a lot of them take pictures, celebrate in their community meetings,” said Daniel Stribling, program manager for 360 Youth Services.
A thoughtful treat to make birthdays a little bit sweeter.
Naperville News 17’s Blane Erwin reports.
