Vision Carriers: How Talking About Icing Smiles Helps Us Bake a Difference

Don’t ever think you can’t make a difference to Icing Smiles’ mission just because you can’t bake a cake or make a financial contribution. Talking about Icing Smiles is a simple but powerful way to make an impact. 

Nikki Bugg wasn’t trying to get her friend Murali to donate to Icing Smiles. She was simply telling him about the two-tiered black, white, and gold cake she had just made for 17-year-old Tyjuan.

“This one really got to me,” says Nikki, who has completed over 10 calls to action for Icing Smiles since she signed up to be a Sugar Angel in 2017. “I met with a friend of the family, and she was telling me how much this cake meant to them. The boy who was getting the cake — he’d been talking about it for months. He wasn’t doing well, and he said that he just wanted to be able to get to this cake so he could have one more celebration with his family. That just breaks your heart, but it makes you happy that you get to do that for someone. It’s just a cake, but it’s also not just a cake.”

When Murali heard Tyjuan’s story and how impacted Nikki was by it, he was moved, too. “I know she gets a lot of joy out of being able to do something for these families,” Murali says. “Having a cake can bring joy and can distract from whatever is going on. Something I can do — knowing I can’t bake or decorate cakes to help — was give money.”

Murali made a $1,000 donation to Icing Smiles, which will help the nonprofit deliver 25 more cakes.

Founder and Executive Director Tracy Quisenberry says vision carriers like Nikki are critical to Icing Smiles’ growth and impact: “A vision carrier is someone who tells our story and makes an impact on another individual. Whether you share your cake on Facebook, talk about Icing Smiles at a cake show, or meet a medical family in need and recommend them for a cake, you are carrying the vision of what Icing Smiles is and does and are a part of growing the organization. It is incredible through word of mouth who this organization can reach. You never know who could be our next cake recipient, sponsor, or donor.”

Icing Smiles is lucky to have volunteers spreading our vision across the country. Here are a few of their stories.

Tabling at Events

LynnAnn Sklack has been an at-home baker for over 25 years — but she was still unsure about joining Icing Smiles as a Sugar Angel. 

“I was nervous,” recalls LynnAnn, who makes strudels, specialty cakes, and cookies in Green, Ohio, through Sweet Indulgences by LynnAnn. “I didn’t know if my caliber was what I wanted to put out there for somebody. I thought about it for a long time. One day, I realized I had to stop thinking about it and just do it. I have three healthy kids. If I can make one family happy, that’s huge for me.”

She became a Sugar Angel about six years ago and has responded to three CTAs. She still gets nervous when she makes a cake, but she knows now you don’t have to be a professional pastry chef to bake a difference. “It’s not the caliber they’re concerned about,” she says. “It’s that you’re putting yourself into the cake. It’s not the level you’re at. All of us are at different levels. Once I got past that, I was all in. When a family sees that cake and their eyes light up, you know no matter what you might have done, it’s perfect for that person.”

LynnAnn wanted to share that light with others. For the past five years, she’s had a table at the Green Band Boosters Craft Show where she sells her baked goods. About 5,000 people stop by the craft show. “There are a lot of Sugar Angels who haven’t been called to action. People don’t know about Icing Smiles. I want to spread it. This is such a service we do for families having a tough time. I want more people to take advantage of it. Anytime I saw someone passing by, I said: ‘This is something I’m involved in. It’s one of my greatest joys.’”

LynnAnn shared the Icing Smiles vision with someone who works at Akron Children’s Hospital. She shared flyers with a teacher who serves on the care team at the local high school. She connected with someone who works at the Ronald McDonald House. “The last person who came through has family in California whose little one is sick. They got tears in their eyes to know that something like this is out there — that there are people willing to donate their time and energy to do something for someone else. That was the coolest one.”

Wearing Icing Smiles Gear

Sugar Angel Heather Fields Sollers also does what she can to spread the word about Icing Smiles, from posting on Facebook to answering questions about the Icing Smiles patch she wears on her coat. She recently participated in a Girl Scout Sweet Shoppe workshop where the girls and parents saw her patch, and she was able to share with them all the good that Icing Smiles does. “Maybe some of them will be future Sugar Angels,” Heather says. 

When Lynchburg Living magazine did a feature on Heather and her business, Creative Confections by Heather, she talked about Icing Smiles, too. “I also feel very blessed to be a volunteer Sugar Angel for Icing Smiles,” she said during the interview. “Through Icing Smiles, I am able to share my gift by providing dream cakes, celebration cakes, and cookies for families who are impacted by the critical illness of a child. Seeing the excited, appreciative smiles when a child receives their cake or cookies is something that I will always remember.”

Working with Employer Charity Platforms

Another way to be a vision carrier is through workplace-giving platforms. For example, Sugar Angel Charmagne Pearson worked to get Icing Smiles on the list of valid charities on her employer charity platform, which offers an employee payroll deduction option and matching company match.

“I also use Icing Smiles as an example to others of the bonus annual donation my company will make if I volunteer 30+ hours a year to support the nonprofit,” she says. 

Talking About Icing Smiles

When Nikki was telling Murali about Icing Smiles, she was just telling a friend about her day. She had no idea the ripple effects the conversation would have. 

“It was really an off-handed conversation. There was no goal to it, just, ‘This is something that happened to me today, and this is how it made me feel.’ I guess it really moved him,” says Nikki, who runs her business For Goodness Cakes in Arlington, Tennessee. “It’s an important thing to talk about and make people aware it exists. Not only is this a nonprofit that could use your help, but it’s also important to talk about so that people know it’s there for them if they’d ever need it.”

Adds Tracy: “You don’t have to ‘sell’ our mission. You simply have to talk about it. It will resonate with the right people at the right time. The more you talk, the more chances we have of reaching that donor, volunteer, board member, or family.”

Bake a Difference

There are so many ways to get involved with Icing Smiles, from baking or attending an event to becoming a sponsor. 

Sugar Angel Julie Fox set up an Icing Smiles table at the HopeKids HopeWalk in Scottsdale, Arizona. Sugar Angel Beth Townsend raised $25,000 for Icing Smiles through her network.

Learn more about how you can help create more smiles today.