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Tracy Quisenberry’s Journey to Creating Icing Smiles
A lot of people think Icing Smiles is about the kids. But for Founder Tracy Quisenberry, it’s all about the parents.
Icing Smiles Founder and Executive Director Tracy Quisenberry was in middle school when she knew she wanted to be an accountant. Her mom had struggled to make ends meet after her parents divorced, and Tracy had heard that accountants always had jobs. She was attracted to the stability.
“Which is kind of ironic,” Tracy says with a laugh. “Because starting a nonprofit is the farthest thing from stability that you could possibly think of.”
But Tracy knows what it’s like to sit with the fear of the unknown, to have life turned upside down by childhood illness, and to struggle with feeling like there’s nothing you can do. This led her to an idea for how to give an ounce of control, a pinch of stability, and a heaping tablespoon of joy back to families who were in the midst of difficult situations.
The Seeds of Inspiration
Ronnie, Tracy’s first Make-A-Wish kid
Tracy was an accounting undergraduate when she was exposed to the world of childhood illness. Home to the world’s largest student-run philanthropy, THON, Penn State University hosts an annual dance marathon that raises money for children and families impacted by childhood cancer.
“Little did I know that the children who came to encourage us would capture my heart with their courage and positive attitude,” she says.
After college, while working at an accounting firm in Philadelphia, Tracy volunteered for Make-A-Wish. Ronnie, her first Make-A-Wish kid, left a deep impression.
“I remember wanting to scoop that kid up and bear hug him so tight that his brain tumor would be the least of his worries,” Tracy says. “I remember thinking that this kid who is going through so much is so ‘normal.’ I remember thinking that his mom was a rock star for her ability to raise such a great kid under impossible circumstances. I remember that his gratitude and humility was a rush to which I could easily become addicted. I remember that I knew instantly that he had impacted me for a lifetime.”
Childhood Illness Changes Everything
Tracy with her children, Justin and Emily
When Tracy got pregnant with her first child, she was working as a high-powered international tax director at Marriott International. Like many soon-to-be moms, she had imagined many precious newborn moments soon after the birth, like introducing her daughter to friends and family and the idyllic drive home from the hospital.
Instead, her daughter’s first few days were anything but. Emily was born prematurely, and after each feeding, she would turn “dusky.” On her second day, she had to be rushed to the NICU. Tracy was discharged while her daughter remained in the hospital. Although her daughter was only diagnosed with severe infant acid reflux and released a week later, Tracy says she’ll “never forget the fear of the unknown while we waited to find out what was wrong. I just wanted to protect my baby, and I sat helpless on the postpartum floor.”
Three years later, her infant son — also premature — started experiencing significant chronic health concerns. She traded meetings on tax strategy for doctor appointments and eventually took a leave of absence from her job to focus on her son’s care and attempt to maintain a “normal” life for her healthy daughter.
“Justin’s illness turned our lives completely upside down,” Tracy says. “You don’t know what’s wrong, you don’t have a diagnosis, you just know you’re at the whim of whatever is going on with his body, and your life is not yours.”
Although both of her kids are healthy today — Tracy is quick to say that she realizes how blessed she is — she can still easily recall the panic and fear she felt while dealing with her childrens’ illnesses.
“My experience with my kids, while it wasn’t significant, certainly played into why I wanted to give back to families with sick kids,” she says.
The Power of Cake
While on leave, Tracy needed something positive to focus on — and what is more positive than cake?
“I threw myself into baking,” says Tracy, who created cakes for her children, family, and friends. For Tracy, the allure of baking wasn’t so much the process itself but rather in the response the cakes elicited. She delighted in the way a well-executed cake could surprise and impress people, transforming their demeanor and imbuing any occasion with a more positive atmosphere. “People are just not sad around a cake,” Tracy says. “It changes the tone, no matter the event.”
Tracy quickly recognized the power of cake to uplift people’s spirits and create a memorable experience. “But there weren’t enough reasons to bake.”
Then a neighbor told Tracy about a little girl named Violet. She had battled undiagnosed illness for several months before learning that she had a brain tumor. For Violet’s seventh birthday, Tracy baked Icing Smiles’ first cake.
Violet’s mom Robin remembers the day of the delivery: “Violet had never had a fancy cake like that before. Not only was it beautiful — it was delicious. Tracy did such a great job capturing Violet’s personality without even meeting her in person before making the cake! It was the best cake ever!”
Accounting for Joy
Tracy officially incorporated Icing Smiles in October 2009. Thanks to her accounting background, she was able to do all of the paperwork herself.
“Icing Smiles would not exist if it wasn’t for what I do for a living,” she says. “I prepared our incorporation documents. I prepared our 501c3 charitable status filing with the IRS. Professional fees to start a nonprofit will average $5,000 to $15,000. There’s no way I could have made that investment. I just did it on my own.”
Through her experience with Make-A-Wish, Tracy knew she wanted bakers to work directly with the families, rather than through social workers. “I wanted volunteers to have the same experience I had granting Ronnie’s wish,” she says. “I wanted our Sugar Angels to meet these kids who give us more than we give them. I wanted them to connect with parents who are living a life they never expected or wanted.”
For the first six months, Tracy had trouble finding kids to serve. Then, through the power of social media, a request was made for Ben, who was receiving treatment for neuroblastoma at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York City. Tracy cold-called several of the best bakers in the country, and Kate Sullivan of Cake Power answered the call to action.
“Kate blogged about her experience doing this cake for us and Parents magazine picked it up — and my phone started blowing up,” Tracy recalls. “She was our original vision carrier. In one day, I had 300 volunteer applications. From that day on, it was a runaway train.”
Icing on the Cake
Icing Smiles has since grown from one baker to over 13,000. Sugar Angels have created over 27,786 cakes and 4,766 dozen cookies. The executive team has graduated from an Excel spreadsheet to a customer relationship management system, which helped cut the average application processing time from 30 minutes to 10 minutes. And each year, they need to raise over $175,000 to make it all happen.
“As a CPA, I know how to be fiscally responsible for an organization, and that is a big factor in our success,” says Tracy, who rejoined the corporate world in 2014 and is now the international tax lead at EchoStar Corp. “I know how to manage funds. I treat our donations as if they are my money. We’re very fiscally conservative. But the stress that comes with ensuring we can pay our bills — this is unbelievable. We are often asked why we need cash when our cakes are donated. It is hard for people to understand that we can’t pay our bills in cake.”
When things get stressful, Tracy thinks about Felicia and Chelsea and Teresa and Kristen.
“A lot of people think Icing Smiles is about the kids,” Tracy says. “For me, it’s not. It’s about the moms. It’s about giving them the ability to do something for their child in a time when everything is spinning out of control for them. It gives them some control back.”
Give a Smile
A cake is so much more than a cake. It is a way to show someone they are not alone. It is a memory during difficult times. It is a temporary escape and a sense of normalcy for families rocked by childhood illness. To quote one of our medical moms, “It is the gasp of air just when you think you are going to drown.”
Help us tell them they are not alone. Help us give them a small escape and glimpse at normal. Sometimes feeling normal is enough to keep you going. Tracy will ensure your donation goes a long way!
