Colorful cupcakes, Rice Krispies treats, lemon bars, chocolate-covered pretzel sticks and brownie croissants were only a few of the treats that covered two tables during the For Goodness Cakes fundraiser. For Goodness Cakes club leader Julianna Hatton (’25) organized the bake sale, which took place in the courtyard during lunch Monday, April 14.
For Goodness Cakes is a nationwide nonprofit that aims to give underserved and at-risk youth birthday celebrations that feel special by providing them with personalized desserts. There are over 1,000 bakers that volunteer with the organization to ensure that foster youth feel seen and celebrated on their birthdays. The nonprofit will use all of the funds collected from the recent bake sale to improve community outreach, connect with more foster agencies and support the organization’s daily functions.
In addition to providing a community space for baking enthusiasts, Hatton hopes her club will inspire students to engage in service and recognize that helping others can be fun. She said students can utilize their interests and skills to do service work.
“The mission of the club is to not only connect students who love to bake within Archer,” Hatton said, “but also provide them with a way to get involved with service through one of their passions.”
Club faculty adviser Susan Chen said she has enjoyed getting to know other Archer bakers during club meetings.
“I like to bake a lot, so it’s helped me to connect with students who like to bake,” Chen said. “Although I can’t make fancy cakes… I just love to see fellow bakers.”
Although club members are unable to bake on campus due to safety concerns, Hatton said she creates baking-related activities and encourages students to volunteer for For Goodness Cakes outside of school.
“We do baking trivia. We learned how to use modeling chocolate, so they’re expanding their baking techniques and baking abilities while connecting with other bakers at Archer,” Hatton said, “while also getting a glimpse into what it’s like to pursue volunteering and activism and service through a baking lens.”
Hatton said For Goodness Cakes’s slogan, “spread love, joy and frosting,” reflects their goal of implementing fun and joy into service work. On a smaller scale, Hatton incorporates this fun spirit into her club by writing colorful emails with emojis and fun fonts.
“We all get a lot of emails, and I think we want to promote the idea with this club that baking is fun. I mean, everyone loves to bake, but also that you can use this to make a meaningful impact while still having fun,” Hatton said. “Our emails are almost a symbolic embodiment of the fact that we want to have that fun, colorful, almost a little bit silly vibe in the email and metaphorically say that we can also have that while doing service.”
Freshman Caroline Muldaur baked lemon bars and brownies for the bake sale and said her love for baking drew her to joining the club. Mulduar has baked five cakes for For Goodness Cakes this year.
“I’ve really loved my birthday as a kid, and I feel like it’s really important to be celebrated once a year,” Mulduar said. “I think that’s an important part of your childhood. And I just think everyone should be able to have that experience.”
Chen said she hopes to see more participation in the club and For Goodness Cakes events in the future.
“I hope we can find more bakers,” Chen said. “I think everybody has a sweet tooth, so we can all contribute and help bake something.”
