Bake a Wish
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About Bake a Wish
Bake a Wish brings free birthday cakes and celebration treats to children, adults, and seniors in the Greater Austin area who might otherwise miss those milestones. Working through shelters, foster care, transitional housing, senior housing, and other community agencies, this 100% volunteer organization has baked cakes marking special events for 7,700 people. Your gift helps make sure a birthday, graduation, or new family chapter does not pass without recognition.
Bake a Wish focuses on a simple, personal form of support: a cake made for a specific person and a specific moment. It is 100% volunteer-staffed and reaches people through community agencies, including shelters, foster care, and housing organizations.
Programs
The concrete work this nonprofit runs. Each program may later become a fundable project.
Birthday cakes
Provides free birthday cakes for children, adults, and seniors who might otherwise not receive one.
Celebration cakes for accomplishments
Provides cakes to celebrate accomplishments such as graduations and joining a forever family.
Cupcakes and holiday treats
Provides cupcakes and other baked items for special occasions, including Valentine's Day.
About this work
Mission
Bake a Wish celebrates children, adults, and seniors in the Greater Austin area by providing birthday cakes and recognizing accomplishments for people who might otherwise go unacknowledged. Its mission is to help recipients know that their community cares.
Who they serve
Children, adults, and seniors in the Greater Austin area, including people served by shelters, foster care agencies, transitional housing, senior housing, and other community agencies.
Their impact
- Baked cakes that marked special events for 7,700 people.
How your donation helps
- Baking and decorating supplies
- Gift cards for Over the Top, Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Party City, Walmart, or H-E-B
- Monetary donations supporting the organization's cake-baking and celebration work
Need help?
How someone in need can access Bake a Wish’s services.
Bake a Wish works with shelters, foster care agencies, transitional housing, senior housing, and other agencies in the Greater Austin area that serve community members. The provided content does not specify a direct individual intake process.
Stories
The people behind the work.
In their words
"Just a quick note of HUGE thanks for your organization. We have been WOW’d by your volunteers and the cakes for our children." — Helping Hand Home for Children
"Thank you so much for providing an incredible service to the girls we serve. The cakes are beautiful and are getting fabulous reviews from the children." — LifeWorks Emergency Shelter
"The families really appreciate the cakes! It makes them feel good to know someone is thinking of them and wants to make their events, birthdays, and holidays special." — Agency representative
"Thank you for your kind donations to our kids at the shelter on their birthdays. ... Your kindness lets our kids know that there are people in this world who care about them." — Angelheart Children’s Shelter
"The mom is on such a tight budget she never would have been able to get a cake for her baby’s 1st birthday without your kindness." — Marywood Child and Family Services
"Thank you for the cupcakes for Valentine Day. Our families enjoyed them for several days." — Case Manager, Texas Baptist Children’s Home
"The blessings of cakes to our children is AMAZING. Many of our children have never had a personal birthday cake. They feel so honored when they see the cakes." — Texas Baptist Children’s Home
Ways to help
Concrete needs and volunteer roles Bake a Wish has shared.
Current needs
- Gift cards for Over the Top, Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Party City, Walmart, or H-E-B
- Baking and decorating supplies
- Monetary donations
- Supplies-drive contributions collected at community events
Volunteer opportunities
- Bake and decorate cakes for delivery
- Collect baking and monetary donations
- Organize a supplies drive for baking and decorating materials
- Volunteer as a baker with basic skills in homemade buttercream, smooth icing, simple piping, cake writing, and cake packaging
Recognition & press
In the media
- CBS Austin, “Making a Difference,” covered Bake A Wish’s work providing birthday cakes to children in Central Texas who might otherwise go without.
- Sift magazine, the baking publication from King Arthur Flour, profiled Bake a Wish bakers.
- The New York Times Family Blog included Bake a Wish in a post about celebrating the birthdays of children in shelters and protective custody.
Partners & funders
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about this nonprofit and how its work happens.
How does Bake a Wish reach people who receive its cakes?
Bake a Wish works through shelters, foster care agencies, transitional housing, senior housing, and other community agencies in the Greater Austin area, from Georgetown to Buda.
What skills are needed to volunteer as a baker?
Volunteer bakers need basic skills such as making homemade buttercream, smoothing icing, using a pastry bag to pipe a simple border and write on a cake, and packaging a delivery properly.
Can recipients choose the type of cake they receive?
A testimonial from LifeWorks Emergency Shelter says the girls served there enjoyed choosing their own cake themes.
Does Bake a Wish provide celebrations besides birthdays?
Yes. Bake a Wish also celebrates accomplishments such as graduations and joining a forever family, and it has provided cupcakes for Valentine's Day.
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