Sarah Schmidt, who runs Sarah’s Cakes and Desserts in Albury in southern New South Wales, is calling for other bakers to join her in her crusade to brighten up the lives of children in foster care.

Inspired by an online article about a baker in America who had previously baked cakes for children in foster care, Sarah decided to do something to make a difference. And so, in 2021, Sarah teamed up with Anglicare Albury to find foster kids in need of birthday cakes that would make their special days a little bit more special.

“I was probably at a stage in my life where I needed to fill my cup a bit and do something nice,” Sarah told ABC News.

“My dad used to do a lot with the foster community in Deniliquin with a carer’s day—so it all added up.”

Since starting the work in 2021, Sarah’s Cakes and Desserts has made more than 60 cakes for local kids in need.

“Anglicare send me a list once a month, and it has got simple details like ‘five-year-old boy loves superheroes’ or ‘four-year-old girl loves princesses’, and that gives me an idea of what I can bake,” said Sarah.

What started out as a solo endeavour for the professional baker slowly grew into something much larger than her.

“At the start, I was donating all the cakes myself. Then, my friend said, ‘Can I donate a cake?’ and now my website has been set up so people can donate to pay for ingredients. We have now had cakes donated from across Australia, including Canberra and the Northern Territory.”

Although Sarah now has help from fellow Riverina baker Maddi Cook, she would like to start seeing bakers around the country taking the time to make a little difference in the lives of those less fortunate.

“The plan is to sign bakers up as volunteers; we’d make sure their kitchen and food safety certificate are all up to date and then match them up with their local Anglicare,” Sarah said.