BALTIMORE — Children often dream of growing up to become veterinarians, firefighters or doctors. Tracy Quisenberry also knew from a young age what she wanted to be: an accountant.
Tracy had never envisioned running a non-profit, but, as often happens in life, her original plans were thrown out the window when a different path was presented before her.
When one of her first philanthropic pursuits introduced her to the reality of childhood illness, and when she again faced it with her own children, something stirred inside. Something that pushed her into the unknown.
The awakening
Many in the baking community may already know that this push would eventually lead Tracy to found Icing Smiles, a non-profit organization dedicated to gifting custom cakes and treats to families with children facing critical illnesses. What some may not know is that it began with dancing, laughing and volunteering many years earlier, with no clear goal except to have fun.
Tracy’s first foray into philanthropy came during college with Penn State’s THON, a fundraiser committed to improving the lives of those affected by childhood cancer. The dance marathon, lasting 46 hours, has become the world’s largest student-run philanthropy, raising almost $19 million at this year’s event.
“It was my first exposure to life-threatening illness in children, and it really stuck with me,” Tracy said. “I just thought, ‘These kids are so young, they’re going through all these painful treatments, and yet they’re happy, smiling and running around the dance floor.’”
Despite this realization, Tracy continued down the path she’d originally set off on. She got her accounting degree, became a CPA and started her career in public accounting. Everything was just as she always pictured, and yet … something was missing.
“There was always a piece missing from my day job,” she said. “I knew I wasn’t put here just to make sure a company maximizes its foreign tax credit. I was here for a different purpose; I just needed to find it.”
The search
When her daughter was born premature and spent her first days in the NICU, Tracy knew she’d never forget the feeling of fear that comes with not knowing if there is something threatening your child’s life. Three years later, her son was born with chronic health issues, and she was thrust right back in panic mode.
After taking a leave of absence to focus on her family and her son’s care, Tracy knew her life would never be the same.
“Justin’s illness turned our lives completely upside down,” Tracy said. “You don’t know what’s wrong, you don’t have a diagnosis, you just know you’re at the whim of whatever is going on with his body, and your life is not yours.”
Searching for calm in the chaos, Tracy started baking. Not because she was necessarily skilled at it, but because of the happiness that came from it. She baked for playdates, birthday parties and everyday occasions, just to keep the joy alive.
“I don’t have an artistic bone in my body,” Tracy said. “It doesn’t make any sense that I fell in love with cake decorating, but it just felt right, even when my son’s rubber ducky-shaped birthday cake turned out looking like a pineapple.”
From there, Tracy dove into her passion that cake held more power than just the sweet treat at celebrations. It provided a sense of solace amid the stress, and that was something she wanted to share.
That’s when she met Violet, a young girl who had been battling an undiagnosed illness for several months before learning she had a brain tumor. Tracy’s vision of bringing joy to those who needed it most materialized, and the first Icing Smiles cake was made to celebrate Violet’s seventh birthday.
From that moment, the path was forged.
“I poured my heart into that cake because it was such a personal service opportunity,” Tracy recalled. “Violet and her mom had very little reaction to the cake, and I was worried the impact was not what I had hoped for. What I didn’t know was that Violet was on heavy doses of drugs and they had received some devastating news. I just knew they needed a cure and I delivered a cake. I thought for sure it would be our first and last Icing Smiles cake.”
Instead, thanks to a chance encounter with Violet’s grandmother who was expressing joy over the gift, it was the catalyst for thousands of smiles … and counting.
The road ahead
Leaning on her accounting and tax expertise, Tracy laid the legal and financial groundwork to make Icing Smiles a sustainable 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
“Having that business background was critical,” Tracy said. “I knew just enough ‘legal stuff’ to be dangerous. If I hadn’t figured out how to do it myself, I never would have taken the chance and invested in professional advisors. It would have stopped right there.”
But it didn’t stop; rather, Icing Smiles has brought joy to the lives of more than 35,000 kids and their families since 2010.
“If I’m being honest, I get more than I give,” Tracy said. “I think it’s just how I’m wired. I don’t feel like I’m living my purpose unless the effort helps to make other people’s lives better. No other work I have done gives me the same satisfaction.”
Today, Icing Smiles stands as proof that goodwill can come in any form — including cake. With the right ideas, people and intention, what started as one homemade cake has become a national network of 14,000 volunteer bakers (known as Sugar Angels) who dedicate time and talent and treasure to spreading joy to families who need it most.
Backed by support from Satin Fine Foods, Decopac, Nielsen-Massey Vanilla and Domino Sugar, Icing Smiles shows up when it matters most.
Where there’s a family in need, Tracy, Icing Smiles and the team of Sugar Angels will be there baking a difference … one cake at a time.
