Icing Smiles: Creating Joy, One Cake at a Time

Let’s talk about cake! Not just any cake, but cakes that bring smiles to some truly incredible people.

Icing Smiles is an organization that connects volunteer bakers from across the country to create special cakes for children with chronic illnesses, their siblings, and families honoring a child who has passed.

Join us as Chelsea shares her story and gives us a closer look at the heart behind Icing Smiles and the joy it brings to so many families.  

https://www.icingsmiles.org

https://www.instagram.com/icingsmiles/

https://www.tiktok.com/tag/icingsmiles

 If you or someone you know would like to be part of the podcast you can message both Meagan and Amy at:  candidhearts25@gmail,com

Find our journey’s on Facebook:

My HLHS Diary- Amy Erhart Cunningham

My HLHS Story- Meagan Houpt

Transcript

Icing Smiles

Welcome to Candid Hearts conversation in CHD, where real stories meet real hearts and nothing is off limits. We are your hosts, Amy Earhart and Meagan, Houpt, and every other week we'll dive into the moments that broke us, the ones that built us, and the people who remind us that even on the hardest days, hope still beats strong.

In this space, we have honest conversations about life with congenital heart disease, the challenges, the triumphs, and everything in between. These are raw, heartfelt talks, all centered around the heart because behind every diagnosis is a life, and every life deserves to be hurt. This is candid hearts.

These are our conversations in CHD.

Chelsea: Hello.

Meagan: Hi.

How are you?

Chelsea: Good. It was a gorgeous, warm day today. So got outside.

Meagan: Where are you?

Chelsea: I'm on the eastern shore of Maryland in Salisbury, ocean City area.

Meagan: Nice. .

Chelsea: I don't know where you guys are to know if you're familiar with Maryland.

Meagan: I'm in Michigan.

Amy: I'm in Ohio.

Chelsea: Okay. Very cool.

Amy: Never been to Maryland.

Chelsea: I've lived here my whole life, but I moved for college and stuff, but I like it, so come on over.

Meagan: . So I found you.

Chelsea: Okay.

Meagan: Literally, just from Google searching. Nonprofits, organizations that help with CHD. That was literally my search.

Chelsea: I love to know that. We popped up.

Meagan: Yes, you popped up and I said, what is this? And I'm looking and I'm like, this is so cool.

Chelsea: Thank you.

Meagan: Oh, how did this start?

Chelsea: Yeah, so I'm not the founder. Tracy Quisenberry is the founder of Icing Smiles. She founded it in 2010. So we've been around for 16 years. Tracy. Is not a baker. She's a international tax accountant. And when her kids were young she liked to make their birthday cakes. She took it as a challenge and, started to get creative.

Both of her kids have spent some time in the NICU as babies. Thankfully they're doing well today. But just that time in the NICU and being exposed to the hospital life. Touched her heart. Along with she went to Penn State where THON is a really big thing. And so she was a big participant in THON, which is the 24 hour dance marathon that supports kids with cancer.

And so those two things in the back of her head and then starting to make her kids' cake kind of flourish this idea.

Meagan: That's so cool.

Amy: And what an, I don't, I wanna say odd idea because who would have ever thought,

Chelsea: yeah. It's one of those things, as a mom of a CHD child myself, and the parents of children with cancer and things like that.

Obviously all of us wanna donate towards research and cures, and a hundred percent that money is valid. It needs to happen. I'm a huge advocate for it myself, but as much as we want it to, it's not happening tomorrow. . And so icing smiles, and the concept of icing smiles is to support the family in the moment, and knowing that right now, right this second, we can't change what's happening, but how can we bring normalcy?

How can we bring a little bit of joy? How can we bring hope and smiles during a time that smiles are hard?

Meagan: Yeah.

Amy: So how did you get involved?

Chelsea: Yeah. So I am a culinary school graduate from Johnson Wells University. I am a fully trained pastry chef super small world. Tracy, the founder, lives in Maryland.

I'm in Maryland as well, a family. My best friend babysits for it's. This like crazy, right place, right time, put people in your world. Right after I graduated culinary school, a friend of mine told me about the organization. So I signed up to be a sugar angel. Not knowing that I would ever understand the organization from the medical aspect .

I joined because I love giving back. I love sharing my talent and passion. And at that time, fresh outta culinary school, I wanted another reason to bake cakes I wanted. To experiment and expand my talent. So I joined in 2013 as a sugar angel. So the organization was only three years old at the time.

And in 2016 my son Vincent was born. Vincent was born with several congenital heart defects. He had coarctation of aorta and a complete atrial ventricular canal defect. We didn't find out about his heart. Defects until he was three weeks old. He ended up going through four open heart surgeries and passing away at 10 weeks old.

So I learned very quickly through Vincent's journey, what the families that we serve, experience I had that point serve several dream cakes and understanding the power behind what a simple act in those days can do. I have every year celebrated Vincent's birthday. He'd be turning 10 this year.

And for his first birthday I threw a in-person fundraiser did a first birthday celebration, wanted everybody to come together. But planning it was exhausting and emotional enough. And while I have the talent to. Make the cake. I didn't have the energy or the emotions to be able to. And icing smiles, we also serve memorial cakes.

So icing smiles stepped up and did the cake for my son's first birthday celebration. So then I learned truly firsthand what it is like to receive a cake from the organization as well. And what. In that moment, the joy that can bring in one of the hardest days in celebrating a day that I thought I'd have my son with me and he wasn't.

From there, Tracy found out that. I also have a degree in marketing and a master's in business, and we like to joke that Tracy likes to voluntold people. She has been successful that, at growing the organization to this size because her leadership style, her willingness to, bring in people and take their skills and let them flourish.

And so I helped with some in-person fundraisers. We used to call them our buttercream balls. And then when she learned about my background in education I came on the leadership side. And so I've been the marketing director for. Six years now.

Amy: Wow.

Chelsea: Yeah.

Amy: That's a really beautiful story. And in the sense that you were placed in that moment, in this community.

Yeah. I don't know how that happens. I don't know how that works, but Wow.

Chelsea: Yeah, it's Tracy would definitely, if she were here, she'd call it a god wink. Sometimes you just, the right people fall into your place. She's been a huge support system for me, and, I'm very big and passionate on carrying on my son's name keeping his memory alive.

If he can't be here, I gotta live in his honor. And it's been incredible to take kinda every aspect of my life, my passion for cakes, my passion for business and marketing, and my passion for. CHD awareness, serving children with medical complexities and putting them all into one thing and be here with icing smiles.

Amy: Yeah, that's awesome. I was on the website a little bit, so it looks like you have to request to get a cake. So can you tell us how this works, . How would I use your services or tell people how to use your services?

Chelsea: Yeah. So we have an application on our website.

We do a medical qualification process which does require a note sign off from the doctor or if they've previously qualified for Make-A-Wish or another organization, we're able to use that qualification as a acceptance into our program. We don't have any qualifications on, background, income, location, anything like that.

It's just, the child's condition has to either be life threatening, life altering, or require an extended hospitalization. And those are really the baseline of what our qualifications are. Our operations team is incredible at working with people we obviously want to qualify anybody who should be able to receive a cake. And so they're great with working with everybody. The process really goes that you submit an application. And , we like to say we are a baking organization that has no ovens.

Because as an organization, icing smiles, we're not, I do because I'm a sugar angel also. Yeah. But we have a network of 13,000, I think actually we just broke 14,000 volunteers around the United States who have registered with our program. We do serve all 50 states and Washington, DC. So how the program works is when you apply for a cake, we are able to use a mapping system that finds a local baker in your area that has volunteered with our program.

Meagan: That's amazing.

Chelsea: Thank you. It's been really cool.

Meagan: I literally thought you guys shipped it.

Chelsea: Yeah, no, it's we actually, it we're based fully volunteers that in your area. It creates a personal, whether it's a, you come pick up the cake, they drop it off, you get to meet your baker.

And it's special as the baker too, in addition for the family and the child. But if the child has, an allergy if, there's certain qualifications or something that the family needs we're able to try and find a baker that can meet those needs.

Meagan: That's amazing.

Amy: I love this concept.

Meagan: Yes,

Chelsea: us too.

Meagan: When you think of organizations, it's mostly people doing research or it's not giving them a reason to be like, yes, research is exciting. I'm not taking that away, but you don't get immediate satisfaction.

Chelsea: Yeah, it's those moments of, we like The ricochet effect, it affects the child, but then it, as moms, it takes the stress off the mom.

Then, a really cool part of our program is we also serve the siblings. While the child going through, surgeries, treatment, whatever their condition may be, deserves the spotlight. They are [00:10:00] going through things that no one ever should have to in their life at such a young age.

But the siblings often have to take a backseat and, to no fault to anybody. It's just the reality of what everyone's life is going through. But we wanna make sure that the child gets the time and the spotlight also. And so we serve sibling cakes as well. They're able to, put an application, the qualifications of the sibling comes through for them.

And any of our cakes, they get to choose what the celebration's for. So we've done everything from, ring the bell ceremonies to heart adversaries, but then, birthdays gosh, everything under the sun. So it's not you can only use it on your birthday. You, . Pick a celebration.

Let's do it.

Meagan: That's awesome.

Amy: Yeah. So how does that work in the way I was just on your page and there's a donation page to be able to donate. So when we're donating, what is that exactly going to? Is that going. To make the cakes? How does that all work?

Chelsea: Yeah, so obviously we do have administrative costs that have to happen.

So part of the money does go to that, those costs being our database, our ability to use that mapping software to pay our bakers and families, . And then we also offer a reimbursement to our bakers for ingredients. So they are volunteering their time and talents. But we try to make it encouraging for them to participate in the program by taking that little bit of, it's a small stipend, but it helps and allows them to put their love and heart into the cake without financially being set back on it.

Amy: I think that's wonderful.

I think too, as I am not a baker, I like to dabble in my own home, but to be a part of something like this. Knowing. Yeah, we'll get a stipend, we'll get something. But even at that, just knowing the foundation of what you guys are doing and literally bringing smiles to the parents, to a sibling, to the actual patient.

I, I think as a baker, I'd be like, let me make all the cakes. I would be broke.

Chelsea: Yeah. It's, honestly, it's been a beautiful thing we. We've, over the last several years, we've chosen what that year's focus is on. Let's say five, six years ago, the focus was really on our operation system.

16 years ago, which is crazy to say this started off with an Excel spreadsheet. Tracy would get a ask for a cake and was looking up bakeries and emailing them like, Hey, you're in the area of this family, any interest? And then one of the cakes got published in People Magazine.

And. All of a sudden overnight it was like bakers everywhere, submitting, emailing that they wanted to be a part of it. And it became, that was really like the cake that like exploded it all.

Meagan: Yeah.

Chelsea: And then from there it was like, okay, how do we build this infrastructure?

So five, six years ago, we really focused on that. We set up this whole database like I mentioned, the pinpointing the targeting and then. Two, three years ago, our focus was, we redid our whole website. We made sure our brand image was strong, and right now. We're ready to explode.

We have, we've done incredible in 16 years, we've done 35,000 cakes. Wow. And we also have a cookie program. So we send surprise packages of hand decorated sugar cookies to families to just tell them we love them, that they're still being thought. Oh. So those aren't something anybody can apply for.

They're chosen. Based on a system, I'll say it that way, to not give away our secrets, but we send them a surprise care package just to know that, they're still thought about, they're still loved that everyone at icing smiles is still here for them kind of thing. All that to say, now our goal and our vision is we wanna become a household name.

Sadly, so many people put a random search into Google, find us, and they're like, wow, that's such a cool idea. How come I didn't know about that? And we're like, how come you didn't know about it? That's our mission right now is to become a household name. We want icing smiles to roll off your tongue and everyone to be like, yes, I know them.

I love them. So we have a group of what we call our local outreach ambassadors. We hit at least one in every state now that are trying to be our boots on the ground. They're partnering with child life specialists. They are, having local meetups. They're finding ways to get involved in their local community.

To be able to share the word. Like I said, we have that network of 14,000 bakers around the United States and we do, we have bakers all the time being like, when am I gonna kid a cake? When can I do my next cake? And it's we want to too, believe me.

Meagan: Do you guys have cards or something , I could drop off at University of Michigan

Chelsea: Definitely.

So we have card request system.

Meagan: That would be amazing.

Amy: Good idea.

Chelsea: , To bring to your hospital if you have a, local support group that you go to, medical families we're happy to send in supply RAC cards to help spread the word and would love it.

Meagan: Yeah. That's amazing. You don't even think about it.

And I was scrolling through and I'm like, yes, I've got this one on the list, and you guys popped up and what is this? And I read it and I was like, this is such a cool idea.

Chelsea: It's fun, it's happy and everyone, we need a little happy in our life. .

Meagan: Yes.

Chelsea: The things the families we serve are going through are more heavy than anybody should have to understand and to create a little light, a little sunshine to create normalcy. And that's what we like to, so many kids have to spend their birthday in a hospital.

They have to, go through treatments , life goes on outside. I remember when my son was in the hospital and walking out and being like, wait, why are you all functioning like normal people? How can you be doing this right now? .

I get joy out of cakes when people pay me for them and I deliver them , cakes are happy. And this to again, take that stress off the family to just, the child gets to pick the theme, they get to request their colors and they get to. I think we, we put out their chocolate and vanilla, they get to pick the flavor.

But then it's fun for the baker also because the baker gets those ideas of what the child wants. But so many bakers get to use it as the opportunity to try something new, to experiment. I did one cake, it was a Thomas, the train themed, and I was able to hollow out a section of the cake and the train went through the cake.

Meagan: Oh my gosh.

Chelsea: And so like just ways to have fun. . We have two different,

qualification, or two, two different tiers of our cakes. We have a, we have our dream cakes, which are what we call our showstoppers. They're gonna be a tiered cake using a fondant and sculpted mediums that really like I said, a showstopper cake.

And those cakes are good. You get one through your time with the program. And then we also do what we call fun cakes, which are, one tier, . Might be a sheet cake, maybe something simpler. That Thomas cake was a fun cake. So I'm not saying that our bakers don't just still have fun with it and go crazy on a fun cake because it's special.

And those you can apply for one a year. And our program runs through the age of 18.

Meagan: That's amazing.

Can you just buy a cake on your website?

Chelsea: No. So we don't have a way for fundraising purposes or anything like that.

Amy: So just thinking I'm in the Columbus area currently and I'm just thinking of even back home.

How do we know? Because I wanna spread the word here. How do I know which bakeries in Columbus and in Putnam County from my hometown, are a part of this? How can I get that information then be like, you need to be a part of this.

Chelsea: Yeah. I believe part of it is live.

In addition to telling other bakeries about us, we also, for those, for the moment that you do wanna buy a cake, do you do wanna even just go to a bakery and get a cupcake? We'd love for people to support our sugar Angels. So our Sugar Angels are any registered baker with us.

And we'd love that opportunity to, share who is volunteering for us. So people support us. I do know we've been working on a mapping system that is public facing where you could click in and get the baker's information and if it's not on there yet, it should be soon.

That is the goal of being able to share. Part of that we are working through our volunteer application and, you do not have to be a storefront bakery to be a baker with us. You do not have to be a fully trained pastry chef to be a baker with us. We do have home bakers.

We do have self-taught bakers. We have a process where they send in their pictures and they're qualified to be a volunteer for their organization. But part of that mapping system that we're working on also is for the public facing purpose of. Is it a store you can just walk into?

I own a cottage bakery, so it's outta my home, so you can't just walk into it, but you're more than welcome to order for me kind of thing. So being able to get that information out there as well. We're working more and more for the storefronts to provide signage, for them to put in their store one.

For benefit of themselves. It's something you should shout at the rooftops. Hey, I'm a sugar angel. It's so cool and so special to be but then also for an awareness, purpose for us of, have a sign at your register that says, I'm, a proud sugar angel for racing smiles with a QR code.

So hopefully as our outreach efforts get stronger you'll see some of those popping up in your area.

Meagan: That's amazing. . Have you guys ever thought about attending conferences?

Chelsea: Yeah, so we definitely attend a lot of the baking conferences. Okay. Cookie Con and like the New Jersey Cake and Candy Expo.

Meagan: I wanna go to that conference.

Chelsea: Yeah, I, it's honestly so fun when I my friends are like, oh, where are you gonna be this weekend? I'm like, i'm about a chocolate convention. Sorry, you chose a different career path. Yeah, this is a pretty cool one. So yes we do work to be president of them.

We've been at some child life specialist conferences in the, on the medical side as well. . And same concept of, requesting rock cards. We also try to, partner with different conferences if we can't have somebody physically there. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. We work, being a national organization it's figuring out what are those local opportunities that we can get involved in.

And that was part of our local outreach ambassadors of how can we have boots on the ground. People, obviously I can't hop on an airplane every other day and [00:20:00] go talk at something as much as I would happily. 'cause I love to travel, but, and rotary groups, anybody who will invite us in, we want that opportunity to talk.

Amy: Yeah. I'm just thinking off the cuff, in two months here in Columbus, we have a one-on 100 walk.

Chelsea: Yeah.

Amy: Perfect opportunity because it is a family friendly. Event. . Where it's a 5K and I just think that would be awesome.

Chelsea: Yes. And we do work to reach out to the national organizations to see if there's any opportunity.

And then our local outreach is try to find those local events that can, whether it's set up a bake sale or even just an info table, whatever that looks like. Nonprofits versus nonprofits is always an interesting, we wanna support each other, but then we're also Yeah, doing our own thing.

It's always a skating the lines there. But when we serve the same populations, it makes sense for us to be on the same team and make sure they have every resource available to them.

Meagan: Definitely. This is just so cool.

Amy: I know my mind's going a hundred miles an hour right now. Like how can I help?

Because I'm not a baker, but I am. I really do it. It's an organization where truly. Immediately. I'm like, I want to get involved. A lot of times there's some reservations there, right? Oh yeah. I don't know what I would do, and I don't know what I would do here, but slap me in something because if it's going out and getting other bakeries okay, you have someone like me who's like, how do I help?

Where do you direct those people?

Chelsea: Yeah, so most of our just coming into the organization, volunteers tend to be fed to our local outreach. One because, we all work remotely also, even though Tracy and are both in Maryland, we still live two hours apart and the rest of our leadership team.

Idaho, Colorado, like we are all over also. It's the joy of the internet and zoom these days that we can do this. But local outreach, in addition to, teaching your area about icing smiles, it's also an opportunity to really learn the heart of icing smiles. You get the.

The marketing materials of, our fast facts, things like that. Which then as we learn what our local outreach volunteers passion is, maybe it's, you're really good at social media. Then Shelly, our local outreach manager, feeds you over to me who oversees all of our marketing. And it's finding we always say if a volunteer comes on and they're, we're like, you're not happy, tell us because you're volunteering your time and your talents what do you want to do?

So we work really hard to get creative with, what can you bring to the table? How can we make that benefit you and icing smiles. So I, I have a college student who is starting in marketing in college, and she just wanted to, expand her career some more, learn a little bit, get creative.

And so she's creating all of our TikTok videos now in a way, we've had clubs. Form at high schools and colleges that are , doing the local outreach of spreading the word in their organization or hosting bake sales around their community and fundraising for us.

So there's a lot of different ways, locally in your area and then from a, nationwide perspective. Always looking for, people who are familiar with writing grants . The same thing. That you'd be doing on a local scale, at a bigger scale? And then we have a operations team, which is the people behind the magic of pairing families and bakers.

So the amount of hands it takes to do this is, there's a lot of us and it's incredible. The amount of volunteer time and hours that are put behind it to make it happen

Amy: and so many opportunities.

Meagan: Oh yeah. I just followed you on TikTok, so

Chelsea: here we go. We're trying. It's not my specialty, but we're trying.

Meagan: Oh, you're good. That's the way to go right now.

Chelsea: Video is king right now and it's definitely, we are blessed with so many pictures. Serving 35,000 cakes, we have a. A process after you receive a cake and after you bake a cake, you get a feedback form. We wanna make sure every experience is a happy one and that we collect those pictures.

It's so special what we get to be a part of. But we don't get a lot of video. We get a lot of pictures. And with this world of social media and digital, it's figuring out how we take that and turn it into video to be top of mind and showing up, fighting the algorithm. And that can get me down a whole nother rabbit hole.

Amy: So have you ever been able to meet any of the recipients?

Chelsea: I've been very blessed that I've got to meet all of my the, I've done eight, eight Dream cakes with icing smiles, and I have been very blessed to meet all eight of the children I've served which has been really special. It's hard because a lot of our sugar angels was expected, and it's not always possible.

Because if the child's in the hospital and there's certain restrictions, parents nervous about germs, things like I get it, and then there's no. Harm to that. Obviously the child's health and safety is most important, but there is so much beauty and joy when the opportunity arises that you can meet the child.

That it's just, a c two of the children I serve . We're totally non-verbal, but just you can feel the joy. It, you don't need words. It is about reaction. One guy had sculpted a Finding Nemo and that Finding Nemo came right off the cake and it didn't matter. Like he loved it. He wanted it, and I'm like, okay, it's your cake.

You can do whatever you want with it.

Amy: I would be like, I spent so much time,

Chelsea: there is something in the Cake World Up is great. You have to attend the party you made the state for and you're cutting it like,

it is a definitely, it is beautiful for the family. It creates so much joy.

There's the ricochet effect there, but then there's the ricochet effect for the baker as well. And everybody, I get to tell the story too of the joy it brings and how happy it makes me to be able to be a part of. It's, I don't care about the, it is not about money. It's not about anything else.

It's about the joy and the happiness and the moments that we can create.

Amy: I was gonna say, what. I would think almost every interaction without even completely knowing the full story. 'cause you know why you're doing it would be very emotional.

Chelsea: Yeah. Yeah, there's definitely a lot of power behind it.

And then for me specifically, just knowing I've been on my own medical journey and knowing, what the family has been through, I often think of what my life would look like if my son was still here and what his condition would be like. And so there's a layer to that. It makes me want to always put that extra time and love behind it.

A lot of our 14,000 sugar angels. Obviously a lot of them have not experienced the medical world, but there's a lot of the people on the leadership team who have been affected by childhood illness in some way. Some of them have also been served cakes and that's what brought them icing smiles and they got served a cake and they're like.

I gotta be a part of this. What can else say, can I do you know what other talent do I have that I can make as a part of this to help it grow? Because it is, it makes such an impact. .

Meagan: I'm so happy I found you guys.

Chelsea: I'm so glad you all reached out.

Amy: Yeah. Everything about this is just insane. Good. Feels.

Chelsea: It's got smiles.

Amy: Yeah. Literally.

I've been smiling the whole time.

Chelsea: I think the biggest thing for us is just to share, check out our website. We have people ready to answer any questions at any time. If something comes up as, a question. We have wonderful FAQs on the website that really break down our whole program and how it works.

But like I said, whether it's reaching out by email, social media, we have a team behind the screens ready to help you through the process. We do recommend, I think they say four to six weeks before your event to request the cake. It's always lovely even before that. Because we are, working your schedule with the baker schedule and most of our bakers do it as a career also, so getting onto their calendars. Should we not find a baker that can accept your call to action when we do offer a stipend to the family to go purchase a cake? And so that's a way we make sure we serve and we, that is our absolute last resort.

We will reach out to other bakeries in the area. Before that, but we wanna make sure every child gets a cake that deserves one. So that is something that we will do as well.

Amy: Let's say that example you just said happened, we can't find anybody, so you contact local bakers to say, Hey are you willing to do this?

How often has that turned into someone being.

Chelsea: Yeah, it's definitely an opportunity to I'm not on operation side, so I don't know that I could give you exact numbers.

Amy: Yeah.

Chelsea: But it is something that happens frequently of they, they learn about it and they're like, wait, yes, I'll do this cake, but , how do I become that standing member with the organization.

Amy: That in itself, because. I can't imagine how many, I'm just thinking of Columbus, right? How many bakeries are here . Even for smaller areas to be that person and to get involved and then other people to see it. Yeah. Like just a domino effect. No wonder why you have 14,000.

Chelsea: Yeah. It's been really cool and we're. We've had, big name Bakers on Food Network who've joined the organization also. So they're their ability to outreach for us . It's been really neat. We last year partnered with great Wolf Lodge and there was a competition between, duff and Ashley and had two different resorts. They built these giant gingerbread houses and did a fundraiser between us and icing smiles One we beat Duff, which is always fun, even though I'm a Baltimore girl and I love, I'll always love Duff, but yeah it's been cool the national recognition we have been able to receive.

Amy: Yeah,

Meagan: that's just amazing. I can't

Chelsea: actually, I don't know. I, Tracy lives in Maryland, but the organization was actually founded in Ohio.

Amy: Oh really?

Chelsea: Yeah. She was living there at the time.

Amy: I just absolutely love the concept. I think so often, when we try to think of something to do,

we look at [00:30:00] such a large scale of what we can do and what we can create. I'm not saying decorating cakes is easy, but the concept is like, why not? Which is perfect because like you said, who doesn't want an amazing cake that is decorated to the nines? As a 42-year-old, I want that

Chelsea: exactly.

Amy: I'm older than 18, but can I still get a cake?

Chelsea: You can support one of your local bakeries.

Amy: This is so much fun. Thank you so much. Is there anything else we're missing?

Chelsea: I,

I know we talked a little bit about the cookie program. The siblings with the memorial cakes again, is something that I hope nobody listening ever has to go through. But it's good to know about,

Meagan: and I love that you guys do support the siblings because they are forgotten sometimes. And then also it's memorial cakes, I can't even think about it. My son's too. So that would be incredible at that time.

Chelsea: Yeah, it's definitely something that little, that can really move mountains.

Amy: Oh, I'm sure. Thank you so much for joining us today, Chelsea.

Chelsea: Yes. I appreciate you guys having me and reaching out and helping us become that household name that we're really striving to be.

Great meeting you all.

Amy: You too. Have a good night,

Meagan: girl.

Amy: Can I get involved? Like yesterday,

Meagan: I, her story alone though,

Amy: I could barely hold my tears.

Meagan: I was like, I don't wanna cry, but it's amazing.

Amy: I did not expect her to say that. Honestly, I was

Meagan: really wrong. I, she said something in the email about, oh yeah, we are really, are big fans of CHD and helping out with CHD and, but I had no idea.

Amy: And maybe it's on a selfish level for her to do it and be so closely connected with CHD I thought it was perfect. Yes. I, I feel awful about her story. I think she was the perfect one to do this interview.

Meagan: Yes. And what they do. Incredible.

Amy: I know.

Meagan: I never even thought about celebration cake or a memorial cake or a sibling cake.

I could have been doing this for my heart anniversary. For my birthday

Amy: and now we're too late.

Meagan: Stop.

Amy: Now we have to buy our own.

Meagan: But that is, I am so happy that I stumbled upon it.

Amy: I think the concept is awesome. I love the idea and while I know you and I try to focus on CHD,

Meagan: yeah.

Amy: The whole of this is just bigger than CHD. Yes, it's any chronic illness, but the fact that they do memorial cakes and they do sibling cakes. That's huge because I do think a lot of times when we go out to find foundations or organizations, we're solely looking for CHD. When I know growing up, my sisters were passed around to family.

My mom and dad had to do what they had to do. They did get put on the back burner. Yeah. That's unfortunately the reality. So the fact that they honor that as well.

Meagan: But also to not have the family worry about it. That's great.

When I get those cards, I'm gonna take 'em over to MOT for sure.

Amy: Yeah. I actually have an appointment at the end of the month, so I'm hoping I get them at the end of the month and I'm gonna be like, spread these out

Meagan: now. Yeah. Give 'em to the people.

Amy: Yes,

Meagan: please.

Amy: Hang them in every room.

Meagan: Put 'em in the family waiting room.

Amy: Yep.

Meagan: It's such an easy concept.

Amy: And initially looking at it, I was thinking people do the side of their homes. . I wasn't thinking bakeries.

Meagan: Yeah.

Amy: And the fact that they're called sugar Angels. Let me just, oh

Meagan: my God. So cute.

Amy: It's adorable.

Meagan: And then she said they had a buttercream ball.

Amy: I know.

Meagan: That's so cool.

Amy: And the idea that they do cookies afterwards just to say, Hey, we're still thinking about you. .

Meagan: That's awesome.

Amy: Yeah,

Meagan: I love that I was able to start this list, but find things that I haven't heard of.

Amy: Yeah. I think this was a diamond, honestly.

Meagan: Yes, I agree.

And her story is just adds to it.

Amy: I love it. I love it. Oh,

Meagan: thank you so much for joining us and keep sharing your story and supporting one another,

Amy: and be sure to tune in to our next episode.