Volunteer Baker in NYC: Spread Love, Joy, & Frosting with For Goodness Cakes

For Goodness Cakes

Founded in 2016, For Goodness Cakes is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that children and young adults in foster care, group homes, shelters, residential treatment programs, and those with incarcerated parents feel celebrated on their birthdays and special milestones. What began as a small, heartfelt idea has grown into a nationwide movement—now serving over 25 locations across the United States.

In 2025 alone, nearly 12,000 children were celebrated, and since our founding, more than 50,000 children nationwide have received a cake made just for them. Every one of those celebrations is made possible by volunteer bakers.

As an at-home baker with For Goodness Cakes, you help bring our mission to life by creating personalized, homemade cakes in your own kitchen using your own tools and ingredients. Each cake is designed around the recipient’s interests and serves as a meaningful reminder that they are seen, valued, and worthy of celebration.

What volunteering with For Goodness Cakes looks like:

• Complete our online training and orientation
• Gain access to our Volunteer Portal, where you can choose cake requests that fit your schedule—there’s no minimum commitment
• Each request includes all the details you need, including cake theme, flavors, and drop-off date/location
• Bake and decorate the cake in your own kitchen
• Pack up your beautiful cake and drop it off with the agency staff
• The agency delivers the cake to the child, keeping the recipient anonymous

Why this matters:

For many of the children and young adults we serve, birthdays can be overlooked or complicated. A personalized cake creates a moment of joy, dignity, and connection—sometimes during a very challenging season of life.

Who can volunteer:

• Home bakers of all experience levels (no professional experience required)
• Individuals who enjoy baking with purpose
• Anyone looking for a flexible, meaningful way to give back from home

Every cake sends a simple but powerful message: you matter and you are worth celebrating. With For Goodness Cakes, one homemade cake can make a lasting impact.

Please note: volunteers must be at least 18 years old, able to make deliveries in NYC (Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, and/or Brooklyn), and successfully complete our orientation training with a score of 90% or higher within two attempts. Baking with For Goodness Cakes is an individual activity, so we ask that you sign up and participate as an individual rather than as part of a group.