True joy means nothing unless you can share it with others. With “Cakes for Charity”, we revived one of our favourite charity events this year. The idea is simple: with the help of our partners and friends from the hospitality and F&B industry, we brightened up the day of numerous underprivileged kids across the city by bringing them cakes, sweets and toys, provided by different hotels and restaurants in Jakarta. These children live in orphanages and are taken care of by different foundations and organizations, whose good work can’t be appreciated enough.
The Dharmawangsa Jakarta
The Cake and Team: Chef Yuri Komalasari, Assistant Pastry Chef of the Dharmawangsa Jakarta created an amazing Strawberry Charlotte topped with fresh strawberries and decorated beautifully with snowballs and flowers garnish.
The recipient: The team visited Yayasan Sayap Ibu, a non-profit foundation that aims to educate, care for and parent abandoned children who were left in hospitals or in orphanages since birth. Established in 1955, the foundation is now home to 36 children ranging from age 11 months to 16 years old. The foundation believes that security and well-being are basic rights for every children, thus all children who live there are educated properly in reputable schools and fed with healthy food only as junk food is strictly prohibited there. The visit coincided with the birthday of two kids, so everyone was happy to receive the cake as there was a lot to celebrate that day!
Hotel Borobudur Jakarta
The Cake and Team: Following this year’s theme “Purple Christmas” at Hotel Borobudur Jakarta, the team from the hotel donated a stunning 3kg ganache with purple Christmas decorations to more than 20 children at the orphanage Panti Asuhan Karena Kasih. In addition, each child received grissini bread, an orange lollipop and a chocolate cookie.
The recipient: Panti Asuhan Karena Kasih is located in Sunter, North Jakarta, and not only provides a home to oprhaned kids, but also houses a school for underprivileged children from the same neighborhood, complete with several classrooms, a canteen and a recreation area where they can study, do their homework or simply spend time with their friends. On the day of the visit from Hotel Borobudur Jakarta, the children gathered in the living room downstairs. After introducing themselves one by one, excitement filled the air as the kids lined up to get their share of the sweet treats.
Bistro Garcon & Olivier
The Cake and Team: Our good friends from Bistro Garcon and Olivier by Immigrant Group took part in this project by donating two chocolate-based Christmas cakes and one fruit cake. Each was designed elegantly – they looked so beautiful that it was almost a shame to cut them!
The recipient: We visited Yayasan Biji Sesawi-Full Life Community, a foundation led by Ibu Maria Ann Sumual. The foundation supports hundreds of vulnerable children in North and West Jakarta by providing them with various free creative classes, from English language courses to dance lessons. Every day, these kids happily gather at Ibu Maria’s home to learn and play with their peers. Fortunately, the foundation was granted a new function room by generous donors so these children now have a bigger space for their activities. The kids were very excited when they saw all the cakes, and they surprised us with cute singing performance, a bit of dancing and further practiced their English language skills with us. What a lovely afternoon indeed!
NOW! Jakarta
The Cake and Team: Inspired by the donations of our partners, Phoenix Communciations led by the editorial team of NOW! Jakarta decided to join the “Cakes For Charity” project as well by donating two chocolate cakes, books, stuffed animals and toys.
The recipient: Panti Asuhan Yayasan Kebagusan, located in South Jakarta, first opened its doors in 1988. Today, around 150 children – most of them boys aged between 1 1/2 and 18 years – call it home. By the time NOW! Jakarta reached the orphanage, the two-building orphanage was packed with dozens of kids (while others were still at school) busy playing and running around, sharing giggles and laughter. They cheered even louder when they received the cakes, applauding the delightful taste and jokingly asking for more. They were equally happy when they opened the goody bags full of treasures: stuffed animals immediately found loving new owners, books were carefully passed around, and toys ripped opened to be played with at once. It was definitely a day to remember!
