September has been such an incredible month! I am super excited to share that I reached my 2017 goal of $3,000 in total donations this month. Everyone has been so generous and supportive. Thank you all so much. And a special thank you to Mrs. Sara Hong for making the donation that put me over the top of my goal!

Also, this month I was interviewed on WCCO radio by Ms. Roshini Rajkumar. The executive director of Smile Network, Ms. Maureen Cahill, invited me to join her (thank you so much Ms. Cahill and Ms. Rajkumar). It was so much fun - check out the pictures below. You can also listen to the broadcast here (we start at 20:21). I can't wait to go to the Smile Network gala later this month.  

Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your August and are excited for back-to-school.

Earlier this month Ms. Barb Stinnett  and Ms. Kim Valentini invited me to attend the The Smile Network International Board of Directors meeting. I had the opportunity to present the Cakes for a Cure story to the Board Members and also learn more about Smile Network. It was amazing and I had so much fun.

Smile Network provides life-altering reconstructive surgeries and related healthcare services to impoverished children and adults in developing nations. Volunteer doctors and nurses donate all of their time and medical companies provide many of the supplies required. Smile Network pays for the cost of travel and lodging for the doctors and nurses and for the cost of medicines for patients.  The average cost of a surgery to fix a cleft palate is just $500.

Being able to smile is an instant boost of confidence. Smiling can make someone else happy. Imagine smiling at someone and they run away because they think that you are cursed. It sounds horrible, but it happens.  Smile Network fixes cleft palates so that someone can smile again, and be confident in themselves.   

I was so moved by their efforts, and how thoughtful, kind and generous the Board of Directors is, that I decided to add Smile Network as a Cakes for a Cure charity. I hope that we can help them make a difference.  If you would like to learn more about their efforts please visit the Smile Network website.

I would also like to thank all the people who ordered cakes recently.  You are making a difference!

• Sri Latha Ganti (Mathnasium of Chanhassen West) - Mrs. Ganti ordered two half-sheet cakes to celebrate back-to-school at her Mathnasium Center.  Thank you for your donations to The Children's Tumor Foundation and The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.
• The Bellefy Family - Mrs. Bellefy ordered a football cake for Andrew's birthday.  Happy birthday Andrew!  And thank you for the donation to The Children's Tumor Foundation.
• The Christie Family - Mrs. Christie ordered a baseball themed chocolate half-sheet cake for Carson and Mathew's birthday party.  Happy birthday Carson and Mathew!  And thank you for the donation to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.​

It has been a month of special moments for Cakes for a Cure!

My grandmother and my cousins, all inspirations for the charities that I support, were here visiting. My grandmother, who inspired me to support The Michael J. Fox Foundation, even helped me deliver two cakes. It was so special. Delivering cakes is very fun because I love to see people's reaction to the cake that I made for them. I was so happy and grateful to experience this with her.

Also, my cousins Kamryn and Kaitlyn, who inspired me to support The Children’s Tumor Foundation, and their family visited from Texas. We baked together and ate lots of cake (and frosting!). I made my first red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, it was amazing. I highly recommend it!

I was in full cake production mode for the Fourth of July this year. A big thank you to Mrs. Mulheran for ordering a special cake for her family. She also included me in their neighborhood’s Fourth of July party which was super fun! I made two half-sheet vanilla cakes for the celebration.  It was very fun and everyone was extremely generous and kind. Cakes for a Cure raised money for all three charities at the party.

I also got to make two half sheet cakes for my cousin Sig's graduation party. He's headed off to Nebraska for college this fall. I think the cakes turned out great and everyone enjoyed them. Congratulations Sig, and thank you Uncle Sig and Auntie Karina for ordering the cakes and your continued support!

A big thank you to all of the other wonderful people that supported Cakes for a Cure this last month:

• A big thank you to my Great Aunt Jackie Zierden who made me a really cute Cakes for a Cure apron.  She made it and monogrammed it herself!
• The Hurrell Family - I met Mrs. Hurrell at the Lake Minnewashta Fourth of July celebration.  She ordered a cake for her father-in-law's 90th birthday.  Happy Birthday Bill!
• The Bellefy Family - Mrs. Bellefy ordered a cake for Andrew and Luke's birthday.  Happy Birthday Andrew and Luke! 

I am within $400 of my $3,000 goal for 2017 -- Cakes for a Cure has raised $2,681 for charities, baking a difference one cake at a time.

​My two five-year-old cousins have Neurofibromatosis (NF), that's why I love to support The Children's Tumor Foundation.  They are such an inspiration to me.

In honor of NF Awareness month, I got blue and green bands put on my braces.  Dr. Lee and everyone at Ovation Orthodontics have been super kind and supportive.  I hope people ask me about my blue and green bands this month so I can talk to them about NF and the great things The Children's Tumor Foundation is doing.  
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Cakes for a Cure has raised a total of $740 for The Children's Tumor Foundation so far!  I really like getting the NF News magazine in the mail and learning about the progress they are making to find a cure.  I also like reading about the NF Heroes and many of the clinic trials that are helping them.

Donations to The Children's Tumor Foundation can also be made online now through the Cakes for a Cure fundraising page.  

If you are interested in learning more about NF, The Children's Tumor Foundation has written a great overview that you can find here.

​I made my first half sheet cake for a First Communion celebration and it was a lot of fun!  Thank you to the McCue Family for trusting me to make the cake for this special occasion!  And, thank you for your donation to Feed My Starving Children.

I recently attended a cake decorating class at Nordic Ware in St. Louis Park.  A big thank you to Diana Hirte, the instructor who taught me some great tips!  I really enjoyed it and I found some great decorating products that I am having fun using.

Please check out some of my recent cakes in the cake gallery.  They were super fun to make.  Thank you to the O'Neill, Frerichs, and Will families for your support and donations!

I reached $1,685 in total donations in April!  Thank you all for your generous support of these wonderful charities.

Wow! I don't know what to say. Together we have raised $1,100 for these wonderful charities. Thank you all for supporting Cakes for a Cure! I'm working hard to get to my $3,000 goal by the end of 2017.

The cake that put me over the top of the $1,000 goal was for Ms. Stinnett (Happy Birthday!). Thank you so much for your donation and the generous support of the Timmaron Group for Feed My Starving Children.  I hope you enjoyed your cake!