What It Takes to Be a Sugar Angel

Three volunteer bakers tell us about their experiences being Sugar Angels via some frequently asked questions. 

So you love baking and decorating cakes — but you’re still unsure if you have the time or skills to volunteer to bake for Icing Smiles?

You’re not alone! Most of our Sugar Angels are self-taught, and many had a few apprehensions before signing up.

Take Beth Townsend. Before she was a regular on the Food Network, she was a self-taught baker who stumbled upon Icing Smiles and thought, what the heck! “I was not a very good baker back then,” Beth recalls. “I was still learning. I applied anyway because I was like, oh, well, maybe I can do something.”

And she did! Beth has since responded to eight calls to action — or CTAs, Icing Smiles lingo for when a baker is assigned to create a cake for a family. She even recently raised $25,000 for Icing Smiles!

Now, you don’t have to do all that (though we certainly accept any and all donations and support any Sugar Angel who wants to raise funds for us!). All you need to be a Sugar Angel is a love of baking, a generous and kind heart, and a willingness to create special memories for families dealing with the critical illness of a child. 

So if you’re wondering if you have enough time or if your skills are up to par, we asked three volunteer bakers to tell us about their experiences being Sugar Angels via some frequently asked questions. 

How Do I Get Started?

To become a Sugar Angel, you’ll need to fill out the volunteer application. Do you want to create individual cakes? Cupcakes? Custom-decorated cookies for our Cookie Club? You can select one or all.

You do not need to bake in a licensed kitchen to be a Sugar Angel. However, if you are not a licensed baker, we require that you note that the cake has been donated by Icing Smiles.

On the application, we’ll ask you to provide pictures of your work or a link to an online photo gallery. We’re not expecting perfection here. We just want to see some of your magical creations. 

Once your application is reviewed and approved by our Admin Team, you’ll get added to our baker list!

How Do I Accept a Call to Action?

Our process for assigning CTAs has recently changed because we implemented a customer relationship management (CRM) tool so we can deliver even more smiles! 

With the new CRM, bakers are assigned ID numbers, making it faster and easier to track cake requests and CTAs. Now, schedulers can not only find the closest baker to the family but also ensure that the same baker isn’t receiving CTAs all the time. 

The CRM also allows us to reach out to a small number of volunteers as soon as a cake request is approved, rather than reaching out to bakers one at a time. There are multiple factors involved in deciding which baker receives a CTA, including proximity to the family, state laws regarding licensing, the date the partner signed on, and the number of cakes previously donated. 

Although we know every baker who signs up wants to complete a CTA right away, cakes are assigned based on the demand in the area. For example, Judi McCrain Driscoll lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania, a small town about an hour outside of Philadelphia. She received her first CTA about eight months after completing her application. 

When you’re offered a call to action, you’ll receive an email with the details for the cake request, including the event date, cake type, recipient, and dietary restrictions. If the request aligns with your schedule and abilities, you’ll fill out the Call to Action Response Form in the email. You’ll then receive a follow-up email confirming the CTA. This email connects you with the family and provides more specific details about the cake theme the child has requested. 

How Much Notice Will I Get?

We try to schedule our cakes as far in advance as possible and sometimes can call on bakers as early as three months in advance. However, if a medical child is terminal or hospitalized on their birthday, we allow an exception and instead only require one-week notice from our families. There also may be times when we can provide only a few days’ notice if a baker has to cancel at the last minute. In these cases, we often contact multiple bakers at once to increase the likelihood that someone will be available to accept the request.

But even with advance notice, life happens. “​​When you accept an Icing Smiles cake a month out, you don’t know what’s going to be happening in your personal life,” says Michele Holmes, a Sugar Angel who lives in Atlanta and runs Skye Confections. She’s done five CTAs and just accepted her sixth. In the month leading up to her last Icing Smiles delivery, she spent a lot of time visiting her ailing grandfather. She was able to deliver the cake in time for “Happy Birthday,” but it was a challenge, and her grandfather passed away two days later. “My personal life just so happened to overwhelm me that weekend. I struggled to get the cake done and balance my time going back and forth to the nursing home and hospice. It was really hard.” 

Sugar Angel Michele Holmes has completed five CTAs, including a disc golf basket for Jay, left, and a Lego-themed cake for Jack. She is working on her sixth CTA.

There are times that you may need to cancel due to illness or another situation. We request that you contact your Icing Smiles state representative and tell them of your situation. Please do not tell the family directly. If there is time, we may still try to find another baker. If not, we will offer the family a stipend to offset the cost of their needing to purchase a cake. We can talk to them about alternatives right away and eliminate any stress. 

Can I Turn Down a CTA?

Yes! We have a large network of partners, and you will never be obligated to accept a call to action. 

“As much as I love to accept them all, it may not work,” Michele says. “It may conflict with my current cake orders. I’ve had that happen where I’m like, man, I really wish I could do this, but I’m super booked that weekend and I have to turn them down.”

She’s also declined a CTA when the family has certain dietary restrictions that she’s not comfortable accommodating. “I’m always honest and upfront if it’s something that I don’t feel comfortable with because I want to make sure that the children are safe,” she says.

We request that the family list dietary restrictions for the child on the application. If you cannot satisfy their requirements, we will simply identify another baker.

Adds Erin Christensen, a Sugar Angel from Circle Pines, Minnesota, and owner of Custom Cakes and Cupcakes by Erin and Custom Cutters and Embossers by Erin: “If it works, great! If not, Icing Smiles will work with you. There are other bakers. It’s not like it’s all on your shoulders.”

What Size Does the Cake Need to Be?

We offer two types of cakes for our families: Dream Cakes and Fun Cakes. Dream Cakes are tiered, 3D, or carved. They require significant labor hours, and each child is currently allowed one under our program.  

Fun Cakes do not have those elements and can be used by the family for other events. They provide us with an opportunity to use more of our hobby bakers or relieve the pressure on our professional bakers who have less time. These cakes are just as important to our mission!

The sizes of the cakes vary. We only guarantee a cake with a maximum of 40 servings, and families will tell you how many people they hope to feed with the cake. “They might request a cake for 20 but, you know, you want to go big,” Michele says. “I want them to be wowed. I want them to feel special.”

How Do I Decide on the Design?

The theme of the cake is determined by the family; however, the design is all up to you! We advise our bakers not to accept pictures of cakes as examples. We don’t want to put undue pressure on you or set the family up for disappointment if the cake is not exactly like the example.

The only request we make is that for Dream Cakes you include a wow factor in the cake and try to avoid sheet cakes (unless requested by the family). Remember, our mission is to provide an escape and to help the family focus on something besides the medical world for a short period of time. 

For example, for Judi’s first CTA, the kiddo requested a unicorn firefighter, and her mom said that she is super silly. “So I made a whole mechanism to shoot out marshmallows from the unicorn’s firehose using an M&M’s Minis tube, a giant lollipop stick, and a spring,” Judi says. “It was not easy, but it was pretty cool!”

Erin spends quite a bit of time planning, designing, and making her cakes, especially ones with a lot of fondant and edible pieces. “I try to break up my time so I’m making my decorations so they have drying time, and then while those are drying for a few days, I can bake my cake layers, make my buttercream, and make sure I have enough of everything,” she says. “I try and break it up over the course of about a week for each cake, so I’m able to go between the kids and cakes and nap time and not just have one day where I’m just slammed with work.”

Do I Get to Deliver the Cake?

It depends. We ask the family to pick up the cake at a time that is agreed upon between you and the family. You can ask to deliver the cake or meet the family halfway. This is completely up to you.

There are, however, exceptions, such as if the medical child is hospitalized on their birthday or is considered terminal. If you are unable to provide delivery in this situation, we will do our best to find a volunteer to handle the delivery.

Michele has delivered most of the cakes she’s made, which has been a rewarding experience. But she’s also sensitive to what the kids and families are going through. “I’m always cognizant that they may or may not be in a position or comfortable or available to interact with me,” she says. “I try to respect the families and their space.”

In Erin’s case, the mom came to pick up the cake. For Judi’s first CTA, she handed off the cake to the dad at home but didn’t meet the family or stay for the celebration. 

For all three, regardless of if they deliver the cake or not, being a Sugar Angel is a powerful experience: “It’s a very rewarding experience,” Judi says. “It really feels really good.”

I’m Still Unsure. Should I Sign Up?

“I always tell people to just go for it,” Erin says. “You’re helping a family, helping a little kiddo. It’s super rewarding.”

Michele says being a Sugar Angel has not only been a blessing for her but also for her children: “I was able to bring my children along because I want to teach them not just compassion but also to be appreciative for things like their health and kindness and being able to serve.” 

“If you have the time, if you have the capacity, it doesn’t take a lot to be a blessing to someone else,” Michele continues. “Because it could be your family, any day, right? So to give a smile doesn’t take a lot. Even if you don’t bake, if there’s something that you can do within Icing Smiles, do it. Because you never know what that smile might do for you or someone else.”

Become a Sugar Angel

Until there’s a cure, we celebrate lives. All it requires is a love of baking and a passion for our kids.