Birmingham, Al - When Amanda Lybrand walked into the Gateway Orphanage, she was planning to deliver a cake - instead she received a sweet little surprise of her own.
"Congratulations from NBC 13."
Amanda is this month's Making A Difference winner.
She founded Kakes For Kids... an organization designed to bring a smile to children who may otherwise have no reason to.
the idea came from a people magazine article and a woman in georgia who cooks up similar joy.
"I love to bake and I thought it would be a really good opportunity to take my baking skills and hopefully be able to provide a little bit of joy for kids."
I think we all remember how special it felt to have birthday cakes as children - and adults for that matter.
It's a feeling Amanda shares every month.
"Some months i've had as many as four cakes, sometimes i've had one. Sometimes i've had none. So it just kinda varies depending on their turnover here and who else comes in."
And the folks at the orphanage speak so highly of Amanda and what she's doing.
The kids absolutely float on air each month.
Christopher Packer runs Gateway and says those cakes make all the difference in the world.
"It brings a whole sense of personal feeling to it. It helps the kids to know that somebody outside of the facility here cares about them, because we love them and we care for them."
" It's amazing what she does for these kids because the kids in this program are ages 12 to 14 with severe emotional and behavioral problems.. Many of them, most of them as a result of abuse and neglect and so there are a lot of these kids that have never had a birthday cake before. And it's amazing that somebody cares enough... Somebody they don't even know cares enough to do something like this for them. It's tremendous."
Amanda's mother nominated her for making a difference and says Kakes for Kids has inspired her to wanna do more.
"Because of that idea, it made me wanna be a better person. And I thought if others knew of her story... That little ripple affect could affect others and make they would want to also step up."
Step up and into a kitchen to create a cake - 1 part giving, 1 part caring, 1 part love... iced with happiness.
"I'm very honored, very humbled, this was just something, a small idea that i had and i do it for the kids.. It's a very special honor and I appreciate it."
Contact Amanda to find out how you can help Kakes for Kids. kakesforkids@gmail.com
And you Amanda are appreciated - for Making a Difference.
Rod Carter NBC 13 HD News.
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