WHO WE ARE?

The flame of the Kakes 4 Kids candle was lit in 2009 when two friends, Myriam and Keyla, signed up to take a cake decorating class. Myriam was preparing to celebrate her adopted daughter’s birthday. In conversation during one of the classes, Myriam shared how there were so many other kids living in foster care who had no one to celebrate their birthdays. With that thought in mind, she went home and discussed it with her husband, Gino, and the wheels started turning. They called Keyla to see what she thought about the idea of creating an organization to celebrate the birthdays of kids in foster care, which she thought was great. The last and most important piece came with a call to Myriam’s older sister, Paola, who has an enormous heart and always wanted to make a difference in the lives of foster kids. By the end of that phone call, Kakes 4 Kids was born.

The next week the four of them met in Myriam and Gino’s living room in the first official meeting of the organization.  They then reached out to area group foster homes and in February 2010, the first Kakes 4 Kids party was held at Children’s Harbor. 

The mission was simple: make foster and underprivileged children understand their birth was the start of a precious life. For that party, Keyla and Myriam made the cakes, Paola made the food and Gino brought the entertainment. Every birthday child received a personalized cake and present while the entire group home enjoyed the fun-filled celebration. 

With the desire to serve more children, in 2011 the four co-founders formed a 501(c)3 and recruited a group of kind-hearted individuals, who became the board of directors.  Since then, the organization has grown to include hundreds of volunteers who celebrate the birthdays of more than 400 children each year. 

Through the years, some things have remained the same.  The organization is still 100 percent volunteer-based and we are still committed to building the self-esteem of the children through positive interactions. One thing that has changed is that we have earned the support of generous community and local business partners who have helped us grow to serve more children.  We continue to celebrate the birthdays of the kids living at Children’s Harbor in Pembroke Pines and now serve His House Children’s Home in Miami Gardens. We also celebrate the lives of underprivileged children attending an after school program at Hope Outreach at Davie.