Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Families
Read through our frequently asked questions (FAQs Families) to learn answers about who we serve, cakes types and size and how to become eligible.
Read through our frequently asked questions (FAQs Families) to learn answers about who we serve, cakes types and size and how to become eligible.
1. Icing Smiles Medical Eligibility Form (MEF), you can click on this link. The form needs to be completed by the child’s Physician, Physician’s Assistant, Nurse Practitioner, Social Worker, Child Life Specialist (Medical Team). This form will be valid for 5 years from signature date.
2. In lieu of the MEF, you may submit a copy of your dated “Acceptance Letter” from Make a
Wish (click for an example acceptance letter) or another similar Wish organization. The celebration date must be within 5 years of the date on this acceptance letter. Any other communication with the Wish organization that is acceptable would include a date, your child’s name, and be printed on the organization’s letterhead.
3. In lieu of the MEF, a letter from your medical team may be submitted that is dated, has the
child’s name and DOB and states that the doctor is seeing this patient for a life-threatening
medical condition that is considered progressive, degenerative, or malignant and are within 2
years of their most recent treatment.
We offer two types of cakes for our families: Dream Cakes and Fun Cakes. Dream cakes can be tiered, layered, 3-dimensional, or sculpted as personalized by your volunteer baker. They require significant hours of labor. Each child is currently allowed one Dream Cake through our program. Fun cakes are typically rectangular cakes or single-tier round cakes.
We allow the family to select the theme, cake flavor, color scheme and inscription on our Cake
Details Form. This form is due to the baker at least 3 weeks prior to event date. The actual design of the cake is left to the baker. This allows our volunteer Sugar Angels to create a special personalized cake that showcases their talents and specific decorating skill sets. We ask
families to not send pictures of sample cakes, as we do leave the cake design completely up to
the baker and the designs they do well. It’s best to not think of this as an order.
You can request a cake for any size with the maximum or 40 servings. If you need additional
servings, you will need to supplement with other desserts. At the bottom of the FAQs we offer you “Cake Cutting Information” to get the most servings from your cake.
We serve children who have a life-threatening medical condition that is considered progressive, degenerative, or malignant and are within two years of their most recent treatment. We also serve children who require frequent or extended hospitalizations and are within two years of their most recent inpatient stay.
Please make your requests as early as possible to help us secure your baker with plenty of
time for them to plan and design the cake. This is especially helpful during peak seasons. It is
not unusual for us to receive requests a year in advance. Our deadline is one month prior
for all paperwork to be completed and approved. Your cake does not go to scheduling and bakers are not contacted until your eligibility is approved.
You can submit your applications at any time. We do need one application per child, submitted every year that you would like to receive a cake.
A medical child may receive one Dream Cake and multiple Fun Cakes through our program. They may receive one cake per calendar year (Jan-Dec).
Siblings are limited to two cakes through our program: one fun cake and one dream. Only one cake per calendar year (Jan-Dec).
Icing Smiles does offer dietary restrictions when the child receiving the cake has a dietary need.
The application will inquire as to the severity of the allergy and will do our best
to accommodate. However, as the recipient of the donation, you accept liability and assume all
responsibility associated with the consumption of the donated cake.
We serve cakes throughout the year with the exception of these specific holiday dates:
2024: Jan: 1, 2 (New Years’), Feb: 13, 14, 15 (Valentine’s Day), March: 31 (Easter), May: 11, 12 (Mother’s Day), May: 25, 26, 27 (Memorial Day), July: 3, 4, 5 (Independence Day), Nov: 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, Dec. 1 (Thanksgiving), Dec: 23, 24, 25, 26, 31 (Christmas/New Years’)
2025: Jan: 1, 2 (New Years’), Feb: 13, 14, 15 (Valentine’s Day), April: 20 (Easter), May: 10, 11 (Mother’s Day), May: 24, 25, 26 (Memorial Day), July: 3, 4, 5 (Independence Day), Nov: 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 (Thanksgiving), Dec: 23, 24, 25, 26, 31 (Christmas/New Years’)
2026: Jan: 1, 2 (New Years’), Feb: 13, 14, 15 (Valentine’s Day), April 5 (Easter), May: 9, 10 (Mother’s Day), May: 23, 24, 25 (Memorial Day), July: 3, 4, 5 (Independence Day), Nov: 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 (Thanksgiving), Dec: 23, 24, 25, 26, 31 (Christmas/New Years’)
If a medical child is terminal or hospitalized on their birthday, we allow an exception and
only at least one-week notice from our families. This option is not available for sibling cakes.
We provide memorial cakes for families who have experienced the loss of a qualified medical child within the last two years.
We are not a bakery, as a matter of fact, Icing Smiles doesn’t even have an oven! We rely on
a generous team of volunteers spread throughout the U.S. to fulfill our mission. Once your
eligibility is confirmed we coordinate with a volunteer baker in your area to provide the cake.
We serve children between the ages of 1 and 18 (one cake during the 18th year, well in advance of the 19th birthday).
After the medical child has turned 18, the siblings are no longer eligible as well.
We provide our cakes free of charge, regardless of financial need (not even tips for the baker).
A thank you goes a long way. Include some pictures of the smiles we created and the baker
will feel forever gratified.
If inclined, we recommend that the family make donations directly to Icing Smiles so that they
receive the benefit of the tax deduction and to ensure equity among our baking partners and
administrative volunteers. We are all donating our time. While our baking partners are asked
to donate supplies, many of our administrative volunteers are covering corporate costs.
We serve siblings of qualified medical children, including siblings of qualified medical children
who have earned their wings within the last two years. Sibling applications must be accompanied by a copy of the child’s birth certificate or copy of insurance card with your
child’s and your name. Alternative documents might include medical records, school records, and religious records (such as certificate of baptism issued by a church) showing the names of the mother or father and the child.
As of March 2024, we require that the application be completed by a parent or legal guardian.
Our communication with families is handled mostly through email and texts for several reasons. They allows us to have a record of our correspondence with you, which is especially important when we ask for the details of your request so that we may share this information with your child’s baker.
We understand that the care and treatment of your child take priority, and we want to make it
as easy as possible for your family to work with us to provide your child with an Icing Smiles
cake. If you feel that you will be unable to respond in a timely manner, you may appoint a liaison to communicate with us on your behalf. The liaison can be anyone you choose who is willing to respond to communication in order to facilitate arrangements for your child’s cake.
We ask that all our families plan to pick up the cake. We will remind you and the baker to make arrangements 2 weeks prior to the event date.
We have both licensed and unlicensed bakers. Most states do not require a licensed kitchen
for food donations through a nonprofit. If you prefer a licensed baker, you must note that in the “blog” section of your application.
We state standards to ensure product quality. Our families are the next best resource for
quality control. Your honest feedback is essential to ensure we provide the best cakes
possible. A link to a Feedback Form will be provided in the thank you note that we send to you after the event date. We cannot guarantee the quality of either the design or taste of any cake. Our volunteer bakers dedicate an incredible amount of time and energy to your cake, and we hope you will be able to sense the amount of love poured into it.
YouTube – How to portion a celebration cake, by Love Island Cakes
Portions are 1” x 2”
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