SHE TAKES THE CAKE
Items donated to food bank
Jessica Flammia doesn’t want to see children go without cakes on their birthdays.
The 20-year-old member of St. James Roseland Anglican Church saw cake mixes on sale one day and thought why not buy a bunch and donate them to food banks.
She did that a few years ago and this year her idea grew.
Volunteers were at the church Saturday afternoon packing 450 to 500 bags of cake mixes and other items for a mini party in bags that will be distributed to food banks in Windsor and Essex County.
“Birthdays are always a big deal with my family,” Flammia said Saturday.
“Everyone gets together, we spend time and of course there’s always cake.
“So I couldn’t imagine not being able to have a cake if I was a young child,” she added.
While it’s important to give food banks such staples as canned goods, she thought this would really make some child’s day.
And if parents are struggling to afford food, they may not be able to spend on the extras for a birthday cake or decorations.
Each bag included a cake mix, icing, candles and some celebration extras such as balloons, special napkins, sprinkles to use in decorating the cake, and cake pans.
The bags were worth at least $5 each and many gift bags offered a party theme such as a handful of red firemen hats or decorations from the movie Frozen.
A group of volunteers including children were making birthday cards for the kits while others packed the gift bags Saturday afternoon.
Flammia is a member of the youth group at St. James Roseland Anglican Church.
She told Cynthia Connell, the youth ministry co-ordinator for local Anglican churches, and the idea grew to include seven other churches: St. Mary’s, St. Stephen’s, Church of the Redeemer, St. Augustine of Canterbury, St. Mark’s By the Lake, Church of the Epiphany and Church of St. David and St. Mark.
Connell said she was overwhelmed by the response. Churches are interested in making it an annual event and packing the gift bags after Christmas, Jesus’ birthday, she said.
“I was so glad we could make Jessica’s dream come true and make it so much more than what she originally thought it would be,” Connell said.
“Jessica just came to me and said ‘Everybody should get to celebrate their birthday.’”
Connell said in a pinch people can use a can of pop with a cake mix if they don’t have an egg and vegetable oil.