Page 6 - ISI_176_FebruaryMarch
P. 6
PAGE 6 ALL ABOUT IDAHO IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT • FEBRUARY / MARCH 2022
Angel Cakes
ICING SMILES UNITES VOLUNTEER BAKERS TO BRING TREATS
TO FAMILIES DURING TIMES OF TRIBULATION
Susan Richmond of Athol, Idaho, vol-
BY CARRIE SCOZZARO unteered with Icing Smiles after seeing a
social media post about them.
A sick child is instant heartache for all “After researching who they were and
involved, especially when the maladies are their mission, there was no way I couldn’t
beyond the basics in the medicine cabinet. help,” said Richmond, whose business is
For children with significant health issues, called CAKE, Let Them Eat It.
Icing Smiles is one of many nonprofit orga- Richmond has baked two cakes for Icing
nizations that provide sweet relief to ailing Smiles since starting her business in 2015,
children and their families, even if only noting there have not been many Icing Smiles
temporarily. And their relief is edible. requests in north Idaho where she lives.
Icing Smiles’s “sugar angels,” as vol- Severely ill children tend to go to western
unteer bakers are called, create confections Washington for treatment, she said.
that bring a smile to the face of everyone The first Icing Smiles cake Richmond
who gets to see—and eat—their cakes, created was for a 17-year-old with an
cookies, and cupcakes. aggressive form of cancer. She said chil-
Longtime Make-A-Wish Foundation dren are known to the bakers only by their
volunteer Tracy Quisenberry founded Icing first names and what kind of cakes they
Smiles in 2010, prompted in part by the might enjoy.
premature birth and subsequent health Richmond fashioned an edible droid
issues of her two children, according to the Susan Richmond, owner of CAKE, Let Them Eat It, known as BB-8 for the teenage Star Wars
organization’s website. of Athol, Idaho, baked this cake for the sibling of a fan, figuring the cake would otherwise cost
young boy with heart cancer. “They were unable to
After discovering the restorative poten- go to Disneyland because of the brother’s condition $550 for her eight hours of labor, ingredi-
tial of baking and sharing cakes “that and the pandemic, so I brought the castle to them,” ents, and operating expenses.
transported kids to a sugary world of fan- says Richmond. Photo courtesy CAKE, Let Them Eat It. The second cake Richmond made was
tasy and imagination,” Quisenberry created for the sibling of a young man with severe
the national nonprofit. To date, the orga- According to the Icing Smiles Assistant heart problems.
nization has coordinated the creation and Director, Karen Griffiths, more than 13,000 “They were unable to go to Disneyland
delivery of nearly 25,000 cakes. sugar angels volunteer across all 50 states, because of the brother’s condition and the
including 75 active bakers in Idaho and 30
in Montana.
$15 Now through BUY 1 GET 1 FRIENDS DEAL
PER YEAR
the end of March Subscribe to the Montana Senior News!
BUY 1 GET 1 PRIMARY CONTACT
Please use the first address as the primary contact.
FRIENDS DEAL First Name:
MAILING ADDRESS
Last Name:
Buy one subscription at $15 for one year,
and get one for a friend, FREE! Address:
City: State: Zip:
Include this form along with a check for $15 to: Phone:
Montana Senior News Email:
1985 McMannamy Draw,
Kalispell, MT 59901
FRIEND’S MAILING ADDRESS
First Name:
Last Name:
Address:
City: State: Zip:
Phone:
Email:
