A long line formed in the courtyard as students waited to buy treats from the For Goodness Cakes bake sale Friday, April 17. The air smelled of sweets, and students of all grades walked around with cookies and cakes in hand.
The For Goodness Cakes club hosted the bake sale in the courtyard and offered a variety of treats like cinnamon roll blondies, cookies and Rice Kripsie treats. All the funds from the sale went to the For Goodness Cakes foundation to help with outreach, purchasing cake supplies and growing the volunteer network.
The club provides birthday cakes and other special-day sweets to foster youth and other individuals in need. The club at Archer is one branch connected to the larger organization of For Goodness Cakes. The members work throughout the year to spread awareness and hold an annual bake sale to fundraise for the service group.
Junior Caroline Muldaur is the leader of the club and is in charge of its activities, like hosting meetings and planning bake sales such as this one. Muldaur first learned about the club through a friend who was involved, and she joined when she was in eighth grade because of her love for baking.
“I’ve always loved baking, especially as a kid, with my mom,” Muldaur said, “so I just wanted to find a way to make an impact on my community while doing something that I love.”
Sophmore Kate Rheinheimer is a member of For Goodness cakes. She has been part of the club since her eighth grade year and joined because it emcompassed two of her passions: baking and service. Rheinheimer said she hopes the bake sale helps the Archer community learn more about the club and the service they provide and have a great time while enjoying their baked goods.
“I hope that the Archer community will gain a greater awareness of the incredible, yet sometimes overlooked, work that this club does and this organization,” Rheinheimer said. “I think that, obviously, having some delicious treats can really brighten your day sometimes, so, hopefully, that will be an impact as well.”
Archer allows clubs to host one fundraiser or drive per school year, so Rheinheimer hoped to be really present and engaged during the bake sale. She participated in the event by bringing baked treats from home and assisting with checkout. Rheinheimer said she views it as an opportunity for club memebers to connect and work together on a project.
“I think it’s something that I love to do but really just don’t often have the time to do,” Rheinheimer said, “and so I think knowing that I’m baking for an incredible cause such as this will just allow me to have fun.”
Seventh grader Ariana Gross purchased cookies and a vanilla cupcake during the bake sale. Gross said she chose to purchase baked goods because she always wants to help support something, especially fundraisers, as she volunteers for charities in her free time. Gross said it is important to support student-led service because it helps people who need it.
“It’s not really about the money,” Gross said. “It’s about the give — how you give to people because there are people out here who can’t afford much.”
Muldaur said her goal for the bake sale was to raise enough money to successfully support the For Goodness Cakes organization and make an meaningful impact on the Los Angeles community as a whole. She also aimed for the bake sale to spread awareness in the Archer community about the struggles foster youth face and inspire people to take action regarding these issues.
“I hope it can inform the Archer community about the challenges that foster youth face with things as simple as a birthday cake,” Muldaur said. “They don’t always get that, and you should help in as many ways as you can.”
