Imagine that you’ve had a hard week — medical challenges, doctor appointments, work obligations. When you check the mailbox, you find a dozen beautifully decorated sugar cookies among the bills and junk mail. You walk back inside with renewed energy and lifted spirits. 

This is the magic the Icing Smiles’ Cookie Club brings. Since November 2011, our Sugar Angels have been baking cookies by the dozen and sending them to unsuspecting Icing Smiles families who need a little pick-me-up. 

“We knew there were many bakers waiting for a cake call to action who could create custom-decorated cookies and there were also many medical families who could use a little something to smile about,” says Icing Smiles Assistant Director Karen Griffths.

Although we know every baker who signs up wants to complete a call to action (CTA) right away, cakes are assigned based on the demand in the area. For example, Sugar Angel Judi McCrain Driscoll lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania, a small town about an hour outside of Philadelphia. She received her first CTA about eight months after completing her application. 

Because the cookies are shipped, volunteer bakers aren’t limited by state. So if you’re still waiting for a cake CTA and are eager to put on an apron and bake, join the Icing Smiles Cookie Club. Here’s what you need to know. 

Humble Beginnings

When the Cookie Club launched, families were referred by administrative volunteers. There were successful-treatment cookies, in-remembrance cookies, and thinking-of-you cookies. Over the next seven years, we mailed over 750 dozen cookies to families.  

As Icing Smiles grew, the number of Sugar Angels who signed up to bake cookies also increased. In 2018, we started mailing cookies to any medical children without allergies. In 2019, we delivered 1,125 dozen cookies — more than we had done in all the previous years combined! 

Of course, we put a pause on the Cookie Club for part of 2020. These days, we’re back to shipping 50 to 60 dozen cookies a month. 

“Our cookies come as a surprise to the family, and it’s amazing how many times we’ve heard, ‘This is exactly what we needed today. How did you know?’” Karen says.

It’s all made possible thanks to our partnership with Domino and C&H Sugar. 

A New Way to Bring Smiles

We’re amazed at the creativity and passion our Sugar Angels bring to the Cookie Club. 

Sugar Angel Elyssa Croker had custom cutters made so she could create Pokémon cookies for an 8-year-old boy. Sugar Angel Candice Hughes experimented with making royal icing from scratch for her first Cookie Club CTA. Sugar Angel Angelia Keen Sikorski made under-the-sea cookies for an 8-year-old girl and a summer set for a 2-year-old girl. Sugar Angel Kelley Gildow Nesler made space-themed cookies. 

Cookie Club CTAs don’t come with a designated theme like the cakes do. Bakers receive the name, age, and gender of the child and the family’s. So when Sugar Angel Ashleigh Vaughn received her first cookie CTA, she looked to the Icing Smiles’ Sugar Angel Facebook group for ideas. Sugar Angels responded in full force with theme ideas like summertime fun, baseball, zoo animals, flowers, butterflies, and more. Sugar Angel Sara Denton shared her favorite sugar cookie recipe.

As of July 31, 2022, Sugar Angels have shipped 4,171 dozen cookies. We inform all of our volunteer bakers regarding their duty to comply with ServSafe practices; however, if families are uncertain about accepting the cookies, they can contact Karen at ad@icingsmiles.org.

New System, New Process

In 2021, Icing Smiles started a multiphase transition to a new customer relationship management (CRM) system. The new database platform means easier and faster communication with Sugar Angels and allows us to serve more families better. 

It’s also changed how we run the Cookie Club. Now, we reach out to all cookie bakers on the 20th of each month asking for their availability for the following month.

“The response was incredible,” Karen says. “We started this new system in June, and the first two months, we had twice as many bakers as we needed. As we move into Phase 2 of implementing the CRM, as cakes did this year, we will have the ability to process a lot more cookies and families than we do right now. We are currently looking at ways to increase the number of families we serve due to the large response we have seen from our bakers over the past few months.”

Adds Icing Smiles Founder Tracy Quisenberry: “We are constantly evaluating processes to see if we can make it easier so that we can take on more volume.”

For example, thanks to automated emails and the new CTA process, we will be able to serve more families with the same amount of volunteer hours. 

Do you know a family that has a child that may be eligible to receive an Icing Smile? The best way to connect them is to send them a link to our application. If you want us to do the work, we are in! Fill out our Refer a Family Form, and we will send them an introduction that includes a link to our application.

Join the Cookie Club

Do you want to bake a difference? We always love having new cookie Sugar Angels. Join the club today!