I cannot think of anything more unfair than a child with a life threatening illness or having to constantly go to or stay at the hospital!  The anguish the parents feel or how siblings sacrifice their own lives for their sick family member is something I hope I never have to experience as a parent.  But it is something too many families deal with on a daily basis.  A lot of times, that means no birthday parties - one of the biggest things a kid looks forward to all year!  That is why I love volunteering with Make-A-Wish and Icing Smiles.  You are probably familiar with Make-A-Wish but maybe not Icing Smiles.  They are similar to Make-A-Wish, but Icing Smiles focuses on the cake.  That is where I come in.  They aim to provide sick kids or their siblings with a custom cake to provide a temporary escape from worry and create a positive memory during a difficult time.  They realize that a cake is a luxury for a family battling an illness.  Since delivering their first cake back in 2010, they have now donated over 7,000 cakes.  I love being able to create a dream cake for a child.  Something as simple as cake batter and icing can become rather grand and bring a smile to a sick child's face.

My name is Carie Tindill and I started Cakeitecture Bakery over 4 years ago and really found my passion in life!  My undergraduate degree is in Architecture and my Masters degree is in Construction Management.  So that is where my professional career started - in the architecture and construction world.  Baking and decorating mixed with architecture and construction may sound like a strange combination, but this collective experience combines together well and makes for great cakes.  We made our first Make-A-Wish cake 2 years ago and it was one of the best feelings I have had in my professional career!  The little girl's name is Melanie and she was battling cancer.  I found out she loves the Little Mermaid and would soon be heading to DisneyLand to meet her in person.  The Make-A-Wish volunteer gave me free reign to create whatever we wanted.  Melanie loved it so much she wouldn't let anyone cut the cake at first.  Her parents finally convinced her to keep the top tier and let them cut the bottom tier.  I was so proud that what we made brought happiness and joy to her!  I wanted to keep doing just that - making kids happy!! 

I love being a "Sugar Angel" and we now donate up to 6 cakes a year.  But that is just how we, ourselves, are involved with these two great organizations.  If you would like to get involved with Icing Smiles you can visit them at http://www.icingsmiles.org and become a "Sugar Angel" yourself or you can donate to their cause.  To get involved with Make-A-Wish visit them at http://wish.org/ to see all the ways you can get involved.  You can visit us at http://www.CakeitectureBakery.com/ or at www.facebook.com/CakeitectureBakery.

Thanks for helping "Bake A Difference!"

Carie Tindill, Owner and Lead Designer