BY BRIANNA GONZALEZ

Icing Smiles is an organization that works on bringing smiles to the faces of children with fatal illnesses in the form of custom-made cakes. Founder Tracy Quisenberry, after dealing with her own son’s medical concerns, was motivated to help other families facing similar issues. Icing Smiles delivered its first cake in 2010 to a 6-year-old girl, named Violet, who was battling brain cancer.

The purpose for the organization is to create a custom cake for an ill child or sibling. This provides a temporary release from the worries of their health or their sibling’s health and creates a lasting memory of happiness during their tough times.

“Icing smiles gave me an opportunity for my passion of baking and also gave me the opportunity to help families,” Missouri State Representative of Icing Smiles Trish Houseman said. “I’m honored to be a part of that experience to make memories for the families and siblings as well.”

Volunteer bakers, or “Sugar Angels” as they’re called, can be anyone with skills in baking and decorating cakes. All of the volunteers are people that have applied on the website and have been approved to help out based on their cake baking skills. The volunteers bake decorative cakes for the children, often times at the baker’s homes. From there, the cake gets delivered to the family it was created for. Many of the Sugar Angels create gourmet cakes for families while others can donate money to the cause. Most of the cakes are for celebrations, like birthdays, when families receive their free custom cakes.

“I got involved because I loved making cakes, and I like making people feel better,” Sue Younkin, a volunteer for Icing Smiles said. “Since I had to retire from active nursing due to a health challenge, I needed to find a way to continue making people feel better, so I give smiles through Icing.”

After a feature on The Pink Cake Box’s blog, the organization gained national exposure as well as offers from hundreds of home-based volunteers. Since the organization started, there have been more than 6,000 cakes served, with more than 75 new cake requests per week and more than 12 countries waiting to create smiles. After consistent growth of the organization, its name became known worldwide, making Icing Smiles more than just the name of an organization. It became a symbol of the smiles that it has and will continue to put on the faces of many families who they’ve served.

“My favorite part about Icing Smiles is the challenges that it presents to me as a baker and the joy and relief that the families get from what we do,” volunteer baker Kishia Belle said. “It’s just one less thing that they have to worry about.”